logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
26 m

Shifting Your Focus from Short-Term Effi...

Harvard Business Review
About this episode

Efficiency is usually something businesses strive for, but is it possible to be too efficient?

Roger Martin is professor emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He warns that an obsession with eliminating inefficiencies in U.S. companies has come with social and economic costs. He sees those downsides in everything from staffing to wages and even corporate debt levels. But he argues that it’s not too late for businesses to change their priorities.

In this episode, Martin helps leaders understand how to shift their thinking to connect excess resources in the shorter term with a positive outcome: long-term resilience. Martin also explains why it’s important to avoid the strategy trap of setting and meeting singular goals.

Key episode topics include: strategy, business and society, operations and supply chain management, efficiency, corporate debt, wages, staffing, inequality, goals.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: When Efficiency Goes Too Far (2020)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

Up next
Jun 25
An Announcement from HBR On Strategy
For the last two years, HBR On Strategy has been a collection of the best conversations and case studies with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. But the time has come for HBR On Strategy to hit pause on new episodes. We ... Show More
1m 5s
Jun 25
The Strategic Advantage of Tapping Freelancers
The rapid pace of technological change is making a big impact on hiring. Some organizations are dynamically securing freelance workers through platform apps like Upwork and Freelancer. Other companies are investing heavily in work enabled by artificial intelligence. John Winsor a ... Show More
30m 26s
Jun 18
The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy
Most businesses are built on a linear model: take, make, and discard. But that norm is reaching its limits, and leaders are under pressure to find smarter, more sustainable ways to operate. Weslynne Ashton is a systems scientist and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technolo ... Show More
20m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2020
When Efficiency Goes Too Far
Roger Martin, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, says that for decades the U.S. corporate system has been obsessed with eliminating inefficiencies. There's a point, his research shows, when these efficiency gains come with even greater ... Show More
23m 59s
Mar 2024
When a Top Performer Is Treating Colleagues Badly
Notes (iTunes) Would you promote an employee who’s a top performer, but mistreats their colleagues and disregards company values? It’s a dilemma that many managers face in their careers. In this episode, the former dean of Harvard Business School Nitin Nohria discusses the classi ... Show More
25m 39s
Apr 2023
#565: Stop Wasting Time: Why Being “Outcome-Oriented” Is The Key To Efficiency & Growth
What it means to be outcome-oriented (and how it can help you be more efficient with your time) – a strategy featured in Fast Company If you know me, then you know that I’m all about time management. In fact, being an effective manager of my time is what’s allowed me to only work ... Show More
19m 41s
Jan 2019
Sometimes you have to go SLOW to go FAST>>>And how great ideas will KILL your business ☠️☠️☠️☠️ | Ep 97
"Sometimes the problems don't manifest the way that would be obvious." Today, Alex (@AlexHormozi) discusses the importance of focusing on the big domino and prioritizing tasks to grow a business. He also emphasizes managing stress and anxiety, saying no to activities that do not ... Show More
12m 34s
Mar 2024
Strategic Scaling
Welcome back to another episode of "Accelerate Your Business Growth," Today, we're diving deep into the art of strategic scaling with the incredible Dave Pennington, a seasoned expert with over three decades of leadership experience in national and international organizations. Da ... Show More
32m 44s
Jul 2022
260: Adam Markel, How to build long-term resilience
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 260, an episode with bestselling author, keynote speaker, workplace expert, and resilience researcher, Adam Markel. Get Adam's Book here: https://amzn.to/3PwE6l6   In this episode, Adam speaks about how he reinvented his career path through valu ... Show More
1h 9m
May 2024
Healing the World of Work
Welcome to another insightful episode of "Accelerate Your Business Growth," where we explore crucial aspects of workplace dynamics and personal well-being that directly impact business success. Today, host Diane Helbig is joined by Candice Elliott. In this episode, we dive deep i ... Show More
33m 40s
May 2024
What It Takes to Build Influence at Work
Do you know how to influence people who don’t report to you? That might include your boss, clients, or even your peers. Nashater Deu Solheim argues that there are proven techniques to help you understand your colleagues’ thinking and win their respect—even in virtual work setting ... Show More
26m 47s
Mar 2024
Fixing Broken Work Environments
In this episode of "Accelerate Your Business Growth," host Diane Helbig interviews David Henkin and Thomas Bertels, coauthors of the book "Fixing Work: A Tale About Designing Jobs Employees Love." The episode starts with a discussion about the current state of employee burnout an ... Show More
26m 53s