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The Small Business Balancing Act - Effectiveness Vs Perfection
Effectiveness vs. perfection in a small business. At first glance these two terms, efficiency and perfection should be characteristics that any small business owner would strive for. Yes, they are both extremely important, but they are often at odds with one another.
By: Mark Bergman
Effectiveness vs. perfection in a small business. At first glance these two terms, efficiency and perfection should be characteristics that any small business owner would strive for. Yes, they are both extremely important, but they are often at odds with one another.
By: Mark Bergman
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Being effective means getting things done in a timely manner and getting the best result possible. Perfection means doing things in the best possible way, without considering the time required. Here is where the issue arises. Often perfection gets in the way of being effective.
For example, the small business owner can often become obsessed with having the most perfect advertising placed in the local newspaper. He agonizes over the wording until it is perfect, taking up hours of valuable time. His other tasks no less important, are set aside until this perfect advertisement is crafted. Sure the advertisement is word perfect, but the extra time wasted did not make the business any more effective. If he would have spent a bit less time on crafting the advertisement, and was able to get to his other tasks, the business would have benefited that much more.
The point I am trying to make is two fold. One, he is wasting time on something that does not have to be as perfect. An hour instead of 2 would have still been good enough to produce an advertisement that would have done the job effectively. Secondly the opportunity cost. By wasting too much time on something that did not really warrant the extra time, he is not getting to other tasks which may have equal value to the business.
So the underlying issue is really balance between the two extremes of perfection and effectiveness. It really boils down to the saying of "getting bang for your buck". The answer is to be spending the right amount of time at any task in your small business to get the most benefit from it. If the extra time spent on an activity does not translate into extra benefit, then the line away from effectiveness was crossed over.
This is a balancing act that every small business owner must strive to attain.
Mark Bergman has 25 years in business experience, covering areas of consulting in strategic planning and software and general business consulting. He also has started up a number of small businesses which he successfully ran and sold off. He has formal qualifications in both business and computer science. To learn more from Mark you can visit www.startupmysmallbusiness.com/blog.
For example, the small business owner can often become obsessed with having the most perfect advertising placed in the local newspaper. He agonizes over the wording until it is perfect, taking up hours of valuable time. His other tasks no less important, are set aside until this perfect advertisement is crafted. Sure the advertisement is word perfect, but the extra time wasted did not make the business any more effective. If he would have spent a bit less time on crafting the advertisement, and was able to get to his other tasks, the business would have benefited that much more.
The point I am trying to make is two fold. One, he is wasting time on something that does not have to be as perfect. An hour instead of 2 would have still been good enough to produce an advertisement that would have done the job effectively. Secondly the opportunity cost. By wasting too much time on something that did not really warrant the extra time, he is not getting to other tasks which may have equal value to the business.
So the underlying issue is really balance between the two extremes of perfection and effectiveness. It really boils down to the saying of "getting bang for your buck". The answer is to be spending the right amount of time at any task in your small business to get the most benefit from it. If the extra time spent on an activity does not translate into extra benefit, then the line away from effectiveness was crossed over.
This is a balancing act that every small business owner must strive to attain.
Mark Bergman has 25 years in business experience, covering areas of consulting in strategic planning and software and general business consulting. He also has started up a number of small businesses which he successfully ran and sold off. He has formal qualifications in both business and computer science. To learn more from Mark you can visit www.startupmysmallbusiness.com/blog.
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