We constantly hear about the problem with productivity. So many people keep comparing productivity rates and saying that the company or country with the highest rate is the best. Productivity is measured in terms of output either per person or per hour but we need to think again and see why increasing productivity is not always the answer.
Let’s take a simple example – painting. Now if we are talking in terms of house painting then paining more houses in a given period of time with the same workforce shows an increase in productivity and those who don’t think too carefully would hold that up as a good thing. If you had a house painter who took five years to paint a ceiling then he or she would be deemed extremely unproductive and we would be looking at giving them a bigger brush or a roller or a spray gun or some way to make them more productive.
If this is true, why do we think Michelangelo was such a good painter? It took him five years to paint the Sistine Chapel. On the basis of productivity then this chap was a disaster. I could have done it in a great deal less time and for a fraction of the cost.
The problem is that the objective was not to paint the ceiling but to produce a great work of art by painting a ceiling. It’s all about the objective.
You may say that Michelangelo is a silly example, but is it?
So many politicians, economists and business people strive for productivity when they should first of all look at the objective. Yes, if you are producing cheap, mass produced stuff then you need to be more productive than your competitor but you shouldn’t compare the productivity of Morgan with the productivity of Toyota, the productivity of Lamborghini with Renault. They all make cars but for different markets and for different reasons. The same applies to countries. Different countries produce different things for different markets. Don’t compare apples with pears. It’s silly.
In his book Essentialism Greg McKeown talks about “less but better” not something that would appeal to the productivity gang but such a good idea for both individuals and organisations.
Let’s stop this obsession with productivity and efficiency and start looking at effectiveness.
Productivity may be very important, efficiency may be a good way to go but effectiveness is always the answer and you can only be effective if you know the objective. Effectiveness first.
Let’s get painting.
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