Effort and Outcome May Not Necessarily Relate

Dr. Merritt,

At the business institute in South Africa, you said that effort and outcome do not necessarily relate. What did you mean by that statement? I thought that hard work produces positive outcomes.

-Tashe H.
Johannesburg, South Africa

Tashe,

We hear it all the time, people talking about how busy they are and how hard they are working (effort), only to find that they are not meeting their deadlines (outcomes). Effort and outcome do not necessarily relate. In fact, at times we must expend what seems to be enormous amounts of energy and effort only to receive relatively small outcomes. The opposite can be true, as well; that at times it all seems to fall into place almost effortlessly and we end up with major accomplishment. The point here is to appreciate the times when things seem to fall into place and to realize that rarely happens.

More important, effort does not equal outcome. A manager approached one of her direct reports who had been working on a budget analysis matter (the manager needed the ad hoc report for an upcoming meeting). When queried about the progress, the direct report provided a dramatic story about how hard and long he had been working to complete the analysis.

The manager stopped the charge mid excuse with these terse words, “Look, I was counting on you to get this assignment completed, and not just to give me excuses about how hard you are working. I need for you to help by being part of the solution and not by being part of the problem.” Ouch.