If efficiency is the economic use of human, psychological, and material resources, what is effectiveness? Go ahead and think about it. I’ll wait…

Like many of you, I find the online Business Dictionary to be a useful resource. Here’s how they define effectiveness:

The degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved. In contrast to efficiency, effectiveness is determined without reference to costs and, whereas efficiency means “doing the thing right,” effectiveness means “doing the right thing.”

Effectiveness is vision in action

Although managers are concerned with and focused on efficiency (and rightly so), leaders are focused on effectiveness. Yes, I know, all organizational systems must be efficient because productivity and profitability are critical to the life of the business or mission. But you have managers for the productivity side of things. If they’re doing their jobs, they make certain things are being done right.

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