Kiran had always seen herself as a go-getter. In the busy insurance branch, she was known as one of the top performers. Her team consistently met targets, and her numbers spoke for themselves. To everyone around her, Kiran was the definition of success.
But her job wasn’t just about selling policies. It also required careful attention to paperwork—ensuring every client form was filled correctly and all documents were properly attached before sending them to the Operations Department.
One day, the Operations team called her boss into their office with a concern. A large number of forms needing correction, they said, were coming from Kiran’s team.
Her boss defended her immediately.
“Kiran handles nearly 70% of the branch’s business,” he explained. “Naturally, more forms will come from her. It just shows she’s working hard.”
Kiran felt reassured when she heard this. But later that day, her boss called her into a cabin for a private conversation.
“Kiran,” he began calmly, “you are doing very well—but there’s something important you need to understand. You are effective, but not efficient.”
Kiran looked puzzled.
“You achieve your targets,” he continued. “That means you are effective—you’re doing the right things. But many of your forms need corrections. That means you’re not being efficient—you’re not doing things the right way.”
He paused, letting the words sink in.
“Efficiency is about using your time, energy, and resources wisely. Effectiveness is about achieving results. True success comes when you combine both.”
Kiran reflected on his words. She realized that while she was focused on closing sales, she had overlooked the quality of her work. From that day on, she paid equal attention to both—her results and her process.
Over time, not only did she remain a top performer, but her work also became smoother, faster, and more reliable.
Moral of the story:
Success is not just about doing the right things, but also about doing them the right way.
