My Obsession with Efficiency

In the summer of 2003 I made a decision that when I grew up I wanted to be the CEO of the world’s greatest aerospace company. I made this huge life decision after a 3 month assignment in a position that was supposed to be my future ended up being a bust. My motivation for wanting to be CEO was I felt my need to leave a mark on this world. I had recently lost my father rather suddenly and thought I had to commit myself to being remembered. Hopefully you can see this wasn’t a decision I took lightly. I changed my mind 2 years later and thought being the CEO was as hopeless as me being an astronaut.

What happened? I got a lucky crack at a position in management. I had a dozen great people on my team. The team was diverse in their backgrounds, skill set and thought. I loved working with them. I hated having them work for me. This was the first time I really started to see the inefficiencies in others. How could I not notice? Their performance would determine my success in the position. The observations were not limited to my group, but also the groups which delivered a product to us and those to which we delivered our product (we worked on an airplane assembly line). It’s ok though, because that realization helped me change my “what I want to be when I grow up” goal. Since then that goal is to develop the future leaders of the world’s greatest aerospace company.

The rationalization came to me on a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles. I sat next to a guy who fathered a baby with a woman that he had been dating. He lived in LA and she lived in Dallas, but they committed to making it work. This guy was just like me (not the baby part). He could talk you through an exciting story like a rollercoaster and get you to want to hold on for the ride. Then he told me about how he acted around his newborn daughter. He told me how his time with her was only about her. He turned off the TV, the phone, and put away anything else that could distract him. I realized in order to get more of that quality time there needed to be some level of efficiency in everything else we do. That’s why I push to be so efficient, so that I can enjoy those priceless moments.

Unfortunately over the past few months my hair has been on fire and my own personal efficiency has been crap. I was reminded of this when I got to meet my new niece earlier this month (pictured above - only 3 weeks old at the time). I need to get back in the game so I don't miss those moments.

I’ve got some great ideas I’ve compiled on how we can be more effective and I’ll share them here. These items range from email to meetings and communication. This isn’t just about being organized; it’s about being efficient with the time we have to feel the biggest ROI. What are your thoughts on how your time is consumed?