Effort and Results and Humans

Effort and Results and Humans

Effort and results. With Daylight Savings just beginning, my internal clock is way off and I feel tired/unproductive, which makes me think about effort and results. Specifically, where is the optimal intersection of effort and results?

If we plot them out, with results on the Y axis and effort on the X, it makes sense to me that if you have little to no effort, you’ll get little to no results. The car won’t go without a spark, fuel and compression.

Conversely, if you’re putting out maximum effort, there comes a point where your results don’t keep pace and over time, and actually diminish. You’re not at your peak without taking time to sharpen the saw or grease the wheels.

The interesting part is the in-between. Your effort and results will look like a bell-curve distribution.

Getting the maximum results from your team over time means helping them find that place where the minimum effort produces the maximum results for your company.

Why minimum? Because they’re not machines. They have lives outside of work that compete for their effort too. Focusing on the minimum effort required for maximum results makes for happy employees and sustainable results over time.

My advice? Focus on their self-described character strengths to help them get the job done with the least effort and highest satisfaction. Focus on FIT.

Good stuff.