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Have you heard of the English word- "Efficiency"?

I believe we all know the meaning of "Efficiency"... It is
"The extent to which time is well used for the intended task."
Today I will share with you about my EFFICIENCY and 1 of the best feedback that I have ever got due to my EFFICIENCY.

Since my school days, I have always regarded efficiency as the most important virtue.
Whether it was a home-work, sports practice or even a fun outing... I always intended to make it efficient.
I used to set-up a timeline in my head and completed all my tasks within that timeline... thus making myself efficient.

When I came to college.. I followed the same principle. If there was a pre-read for tomorrow's lecture, I would finish it within a set timeline.
If I got an assignment, I would set a timeline and push myself to complete the assignment within the timeline.
Even night-outs.. I used to agree for a deadline (for example 2 AM) when I would stop the fun and go to sleep.
I always made sure that my task at hand is finished within a time frame.

My school teachers and college professors were always happy with me. They appreciated my ability to finish everything in time i.e. my efficiency.
For them I was an ideal student.

I liked a girl in my college.
Believe it or not... Efficiency was so ingrained in me that I actually set a timeframe for myself to woo her.

Time passed by and I was happy with my efficiency.

In 2007, I joined Infosys. Even there, I was hugely appreciated for my efficient work.
I was never the best performer but always figured in the top 20% in appraisal cycle.
In all my performance appraisals , the term "EFFICIENT" was always mentioned.
Whenever any project was pressed for time, I was asked to handle the situation. And I never failed them.

It was all good.. BUT.. one thing started crossing my mind again and again.
Why am I not the best performer? Is there anything missing?
I knew I was hard-working, quick learner, sincere and EFFICIENT as well.

I did not have an answer to this question for quite long. But then one day, things became a bit clear due to an incident.

It was during my MBA. I was sitting in 1 of the open-house meetings.
An open-house is a meeting where student representatives meet the college administration. They discuss the major issues raised by students.
The issues could be- internet speed, sports facilities, placement queries etc.
That day, the open house was being chaired by the Executive Director of our college. He was the professor of Strategy.
There were 10 points to be discussed and we had a time of 1 hour.
My efficient mind started working. I thought that keeping 10 mins of buffer, we should not take more than 5 mins for discussion on a single point.

The meeting started smoothly. While we were in the middle of the meeting, the discussion on 1 point got stretched.
I waited for 1 more min. And then I signaled to make a hard stop and move to the next point.
The meeting was happening inside a lecture room. I was sitting at 1 of the student chair. From my place I made this gesture..<   >

The Executive Director saw me. He stopped the discussion. He looked at me and gave me 1 of the most important feedback of my life.
He said.."Sumit.. Efficiency is not the only thing to be tracked. We have to look at Effectiveness as well."

Effectiveness.. his words echoed in my head. My whole life replayed itself.
My life would have been different if I was equally effective while studying, sports practice, fun outing, assignments and all those things.

Actually this was the feedback I was looking for.
Had I been effective, my appraisals and even life would have been very different.
With this feedback, I had got the answer to the question that crossed my mind few years back.

I want to say that we can not walk in a single direction in life. Because we get pulled from many directions. We have to balance it all.
We have to make sure that we are efficient but don't stop at it. Make sure that at the same time we are effective in whatever we are doing.
Being effective and efficient is the feedback that we should always remember.

I got wowed

I have been wowed many times in my childhood.Today I will share few of those "wow" moments with you.

1994, it was the time when Doordarshan was the only channel in my city. I watched an advertisement about the Prime Minister
doing something about the economy. I got curious and asked my dad "what is this". My dad explained that the PM has liberalized the
economy allowing more private and foreign investment. I said "how can 1 person do such a big task that impacts the whole
country?". My dad said that he was the prime minister and he has the powers to take such decisions.
My career goal was formed then and there. I decided to become the PM of India.
I started participating in debates, speeches etc.
Result- I became the class monitor.

1996- It was the cricket world cup. And I got a chance to watch cricket first time on TV.
In a match I watched bowling of Wasim Akram. And I was wowed. One of
my seniors in neighborhood told me that he is the best bowler of the world. And sadly there is no such lethal left arm
pace bowler in Indian Team. This is the reason India lost.
I was pumped. Being a natural lefthander, I thought this is what I am born to be- The left arm pace bowler of India.
I started practicing bowling. And devoted more time to cricket.
Result- I came at 4th rank in my class that year. My father was hugely disappointed as our neighbor's daughter came 2nd.

2007- I joined Infosys Bangalore. Fresh out of college, I was super excited and raring to code all the world.
By chance, I went to the gym there. I saw a person lifting 75 Kg each side i.e. 150 Kg bench press.
I was wowed. I thought this is the actual target of my life. I should be lifting 200 Kgs, i should get 8 pack abs.
I joined Infosys gym. Started with going twice daily.. Gradually became an occasional visitor.

I got wowed by these instances
I haven't yet become Prime Minister but I did start participating at district level debate competitions.

I haven't yet become  Wasin Akram but I enjoyed a lot watching more cricket.

I haven't yet become  a body builder but I did become more aware about fitness.

To all of you, my message is that keep getting wowed. Keep your inner child alive and there are a lot of things to learn and enjoy.