Is It Dangerous to Be Efficient?

A few years ago, an interesting piece was published in one of the leading newspapers in Israel. It says that studies carried out over the past three years show that organizations must be inefficient and not spontaneous to be agile. These are surprising findings, especially in an environment that sanctifies efficiency (certainly in these times) and quick decision-making. Being efficient is dangerous because the ability to respond quickly to crises and changes (=being agile) is low.

But these are organizations.

If we think about people, it sounds pretty logical. When we are efficient, we exhaust all our resources toward the benefit of work, and there is no room for growth. You don’t have the time frame for exploration and wandering. There are no accidental meetings that give rise to collaborations, initiatives, and new ways of thinking. Everything is ticking, and the money is good, but everything is limited to the framework that frames us.

The aspiration for maximum efficiency is excellent in the short term, but from a long-term perspective, it reduces and lowers everyone’s ceiling. Everyone needs a personal vacuum into which information is sucked and changes occur; A vacuum doesn’t make us 100% efficient.

Are you 100% effective, or do you give yourself time to “get lost”?