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Effectiveness

No matter how much the boss or the customers yelled or threatened, the locomotive pulling freight and passenger cars refused to move. They were dead in the water.  The day started out as planned, but then went from good to bad. The train lurched to a stop without warning. Upon investigation, the eng

Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney
— 1 min read
A picture of a yellow train used as illustration on effectiveness
A story of a train and a screw and how it impacted effectiveness

No matter how much the boss or the customers yelled or threatened, the locomotive pulling freight and passenger cars refused to move. They were dead in the water.

The day started out as planned, but then went from good to bad. The train lurched to a stop without warning. Upon investigation, the engine had somehow lost a required part – a single screw. A screw they did not have and one not stocked at the closest repair depot.

A locomotive that costs $6M was unusable for a 1 cent part.

Effectiveness is the understanding of what it takes to achieve the mission.

Most think that career achievement comes from succeeding at high-profile tasks and responsibilities. I’ve seen promising careers get derailed by overlooking insignificant items that turned out to be critical – like the screw.

? What are you overlooking, because you think it is insignificant, that could cause major issues? 

Effectiveness is the understanding of what it takes to achieve the mission.

A normal post on this blog is 1,000 words. Anything less than 300 words is a “micropost.” I am trying out these shorter posts so that I can share more often. I would love to hear your thoughts. Post in the comments.

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Phil McKinney

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Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.

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