‘If trying harder was going to reduce errors, it would have worked already. Realize that your problem is caused by a systemic situation, not a lack of effort.’
(Seth Godin)
Achieving excellence needs more than time and hard work. The key, as management guru W. Edwards Deming memorably noted, is mentality – a deep commitment to finding ways to work smarter: doing the work of figuring out how to continually optimise time, effort, equipment and resources, in the context of constant change.
The foundation for this is the systematic prioritisation of time to reflect, analyse, discuss, understand, innovate, experiment and improve things. And using that time in a disciplined and focused way.
Three ways to spend time: value-adding, value-enabling and waste
Time in business can be spent in three ways, on:
- Value-adding activities that transform the product or service in ways that add direct, chargeable value to the customer (i.e. that provide what they want, asked for and will pay for). For example, designing the product, cutting materials to size, assembling the product, picking the item, delivering the order, or serving the customer
- Value-enabling activities that underpin and optimise the value-adding activities. The important foundational work that makes the next day, week, month, year and the longer-term future better. These include:
- Designing, planning, resourcing, managing and improving the underpinning processes
- Leading, managing, coaching and developing people and fostering teamwork
- Long-term strategic planning and implementation. Enabling the business to (a) survive, by identifying and dealing with emerging threats, (b) thrive, by spotting and capitalising on opportunities, and (c) developing the business as a system to be more adaptive to emerging opportunities, threats and other changes in its environment
- Waste activities that either add no value, or actively destroy value. Effort that is unnecessary, inefficient or creates the need for rework, or that damages processes, relationships, trust or reputation, or suppresses the development or expression of talent and reduces the scope for learning, improvement and growth
The foundation of working smarter is the systematic prioritisation of time to reflect, analyse, discuss, understand, innovate, experiment and improve things
In any professional performance domain, the primary responsibility of a manager is to find the optimal balance between value-adding and value-enabling time, to minimise waste and to optimise both the amount and quality of value-adding time. This is the very essence of the craft of management.
How do you balance your time?
Let’s get to work
If you’d like to read more on leading a culture of excellence, try our three deep-dive guides available to view online:
- Leadership Thinking
- The Anatomy of Business Excellence
- Creating Sustained Success And Why Companies Struggle To Achieve It
Also, our book ‘Toward Excellence – Create Enduring Business Success’ published September 2025
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