Have you sometimes been told that you need to be more productive? You need to work harder? You need to be more efficient?

Most people, when they hear these words, think that they need to speed up their work. "The management thinks we are too slow."

Efficiency and productivity are in most cases not linked to the speed of work. In fact, efficiency and productivity comes from the following:

• Making sure what you contribute towards fulfilling your company's strategy. (Justified by strategy - adding value)
• What you do - do it right. (Right quality)
• What you do - do it the right way. (Right process)
• Prioritizing initiatives and choosing which ones to do first, second, and which ones to never do. (Project management)
• Making sure what you do can be justified economically. (Financial management)
• Making sure that you have the needed skills to perform the job. (HR management)
• Making sure that what you do is within the acceptable levels of risk. (Risk management)

None of the seven check points on the list above ask you to "run faster". Hence, the key to productivity and efficiency is actually in making better decisions on key issues like quality, process, projects, financials, HR and risk.

In a world where the speed of business is increasing, it is important to not just speed up the "hamster wheel", but to speed up the thinking process and ask these fundamental questions. And if you are honest you will experience increasing efficiency and productivity in you and in your company.

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