By: O.L./Sway Buckley
I once worked for an entrepreneur who said, "Don't talk to me about activity; talk to me about results!"
It was a small boutique but high-revenue-generating real estate investment outfit.
We were crushing it up until the mortgage crisis of 2007.
The real estate firm was highly profitable. Highly productive.
Ask five people, "What is productivity?" and you'll likely get five other answers.
Essentially, all five will say something to the effect of "Productivity is how well and efficiently you get something done."
We live in a results-oriented society where results matter.
Our bottom line way of measuring things requires us to gauge "productivity." To assess outputs.
However, I'd like to push back on that idea a bit. Not because I disagree with it, but because it's too narrow. Too limiting.
There's some subjectivity to how we think about productivity.
In other words, we may do something well-but it can still be done more effectively.
Too often, we need to distinguish productivity from proficiency.
Productivity is usually output driven and measured in metrics/volume. For example, how many haircuts did the barber complete in a week?
But proficiency influences productivity.
Same example, how well and fast did the barber complete each haircut that week?
Proficiency increases productivity.
But something needs to be added when we only consider productivity. And that is the outcome.
The outcome is different from the output. If the output is defined by [how many], then the outcome is determined as [what was the impact] of how many. In other words, the product is the effect/effectiveness of the output.
Why should this matter to us as men and marriedpreneurs?
Because our sense of worth and value is often tied to how many/how much, and that's a narrow way to think about life and business. A more balanced and healthy perspective is how effective our activities are. Did we add value to others by modeling integrity?
Do results matter? Yes. But so do our daily activities. Let's strive not merely for high outputs in business but meaningful outcomes. People learn more from how well we do what we do.
I hope this helps put your approach to business and family into perspective- a healthy perspective. But a healthy mindset is only the beginning. Tangible outcomes require solid systems! If you've been seeking systems built on a healthy mindset to keep marriage and business from competing, schedule a free success mapping call with us here.
Here's to living purposefully, powerfully, and profitably in sync,
O.L. & Sway
O.L. is a former banker turned real estate consultant and entrepreneur. Sway is a former CEO of a staffing firm she started on her dorm room floor to pay for college. Together they co-own Marriedpreneur Life Consultancy, equipping married entrepreneur couples with high-level systems to scale without strain. They're the co-hosts of The Marriedprenuer Life Podcast, which was praised as one of Wedding Wire's top relationship podcasts. Learn more at MarriedpreneurLife.com.