(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Kronos, the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Be sure to check out KronosLIVE, a 30-city seminar series offering the latest insights on how organizations can control labor costs and improve workforce productivity. Enjoy the post!)
Sometimes we can focus a bit too much on outcomes. I’m reminded of it when people say, “Results are the only thing that matters.” Or “Profit is the only thing that’s important.” Truth is, the path to getting there (aka “the process”) matters too.
For example, I saw this comment on Twitter a couple days ago, “I love when I learn something new. I hate when it wastes a lot of my time learning it.” The outcome is important – learning something new. The process was painful – wasting time.
Today’s Time Well Spent cartoon from our friends at Kronos reminds us to think of both the process and the results. Otherwise, we can waste a lot of time and company resources.
To be effective, efficient and productive, we have to think about more than just the results. Ultimately, creating good procedures will lead us to better outcomes.
Tarik Taman says
Sharlyn – good point, well made. We always need processes to reach an outcome, so let’s make sure they are as effective as possible. One corollary though: sometimes we learn best when we’re really involved in doing something, and that can be painful. Just because it was painful doesn’t mean necessarily that the process was a poor one.