Insights

In my youth, I had the misguided belief that I needed to be a lawyer. It turns out that this assumption could not be further from the truth. Please allow me to clarify that while I do enjoy jokes where lawyers are the target of the punchline, I did and still do hold the profession in high esteem. One of the necessary hurdles in gaining admission to law school is the Law School Admissions Test or LSAT for short. It serves as a measurement tool to assess an applicant’s reading comprehension, reasoning skills and analytical capacity. In essence, it is the type of exam that leaves you feeling mentally spent and convinced you are incapable of rational thought.

Within this exam, lurks a beast known simply as “analytical reasoning questions.” The purpose of this section is to measure an individual’s ability to recognize organization within relationships and draw logical conclusions about this structure as a result. The concept in and of itself is not difficult; the questions are simplistic enough that given adequate time anyone should be able to determine accurate answers. Here is where the challenge is introduced. Time is stripped away, in order to apply pressure and truly measure one’s efficiency.

Efficiency is a concept that many may reference, but few fully understand; it has achieved the unfortunate status of becoming a business buzzword (cue “The Imperial March”).  In the simplest of terms, efficiency is a balanced marriage of speed and accuracy. One without the other is ultimately a failure waiting to unfold.

For example, in the above scenario, one could complete the analytical reasoning section of the LSAT in a fraction of the time allotted by simply randomly selecting Scantron bubbles to fill in. While it is possible to receive a momentary ego boost for being the first to complete this section of the exam that boost would be crushed by the reality that the majority of answers selected were incorrect. On the other hand, one could choose to focus all of their time ensuring complete accuracy for each question. Unfortunately, the resulting impact is that the majority of the test questions would not be addressed. In either situation, failure is all but assured. Efficiency allows one to find a space in which accurate decisions are effectively determined within the confines of limited time.

If efficiency is such a benefit, it then begs the question, “How do I improve my efficiency?” Here are several strategies:

1) Minimize Distractions

Since our culture is an always on, always connected society, it is easy to become oblivious to all that clamors for our attention. It is possible that at any moment an email notification will hit your inbox, a text notification will sound on your cell and a co-worker will come to you with a critical concern as a conference call plays on your speakerphone, all while you are desperately trying to complete your reports.

In order to drive efficiency, it is first necessary to eliminate distractions. Set an autoreply for your e-mail. Place your cell on silent. Close your door with a request to not be interrupted. While this may seem isolationist or counterintuitive to team ethos, the distraction free time will allow for greater mental bandwidth to be allocated to a single task, thereby decreasing the amount of time necessary for completion and providing you more time for the above needs.

2) Control your Technology

The amount of freedom and flexibility provided by technology enables individuals to remove themselves from distractions and allow for greater productivity. No longer is it necessary to sit at a desktop to be able to collaborate on a project and being confined by this mindset diminishes speed to completion. Instead, embrace the freedom enhancing benefits technology presents allowing for improved performance. By taking work mobile on a laptop, tablet or smartphone, it is possible to remove the typical demands that derail efficiency.

3) Delegate

If your personality is like mine (Myers-Briggs ISTJ) this solution is difficult to embrace. My compulsion is to unnecessarily take on tasks that could and should be delegated to others; embracing the misguided belief that in order for something to be done right, I must be the one to do it. Ultimately, the reasoning is flawed in a wide range of capacities. By adding another responsibility to my list, I decrease the time and energy I have to complete all of my tasks. Furthermore, those who would benefit from receiving delegated responsibility are not given the opportunity for personal or professional growth. If you trust your team, give them the space for growth and give yourself freedom in the process.

4) Be Open to Feedback

By creating a platform where others are free to bring you constructive critical feedback, weaknesses are constantly being brought forward for refinement. Understandably, receiving critical personal analysis is never pleasant, but it is a necessary tool for growth. Much like steel must be exposed to heat in order to burn off impurities and harden, feedback applies the heat of critical evaluation in order to remove impurities and weaknesses resulting in a stronger end product. As my friend Jennifer Bartrug is fond of saying, “Feedback is a gift.”

5) Train

As weaknesses are uncovered, or new technologies are developed, continually seek to improve your awareness and understanding of these areas. Learn new approaches to resolving old problems. Embrace new technology and actively seek to find new ways to grow each day. Constantly invest in your personal development, so that you constantly raise the bar on your capacity.

Please share your own ideas and insights on developing and driving efficiency; I would love to hear your thoughts.