Activity does not always equal Accomplishment

Technology itself has enabled a single person to create a great deal. In the time it takes me to write and post these words, I will likely have also checked my email, sent correspondence via instant messaging, and arranged travel for a business conference. If the average businessperson accurately listed the tasks undergone in a particular day, the results would be surprising. At first glance, the sheer number of items completed will tend to create a sense of accomplishment. Who wouldn’t be proud of checking off thirty or forty items on a list? Dig a little deeper, though. Take a look at the tasks and determine which of them actually resulted in a benefit to the company? How many of them helped to fill a day but really meant less to the success of the venture than the time spent with them?

Now, multiply that activity by the number of employees working for you. There are certainly hundreds of activities happening every day that likely don’t offer anything in the way of accomplishment. This doesn’t mean your employees are bad or shirking duties. They probably go to bed at night just as tired and just as overworked as you do. It does mean, however, that every employee ought to learn what tasks impact the company. For example, I have known salespersons who spend hours “preparing” to make phone calls and others who stay on the phone constantly but somehow can’t consistently close business. I’ve known programmers who can write beautiful code but spend their time on features that have little benefit. Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of management to take the best efforts of the employees and ensure that they are directed properly for maximum effect, to turn the activity into real accomplishment.

How much of what your company does is just activity?