Efficiency 101

It's interesting how much of our business resembles the game of Tetris. Most of us have played it at one time or another: that addicting little game with the simple premise of getting the most number of pieces to stack into place neatly, with as little free space open as possible, and under the clock. And as the game really heats up, the pieces fall faster and faster, forcing the player to make spot-on decisions at mind-blazing speed. Wait too long to decide on how and where to drop each piece, and they start piling up like a train wreck.

It's a good analogy, because projects can go the same course. The sooner it is to deadline time, the more details seem to come out of the woodwork. And they all need to be handled with razor precision to meet the immovable or even - God forbid - pushed up deadline. The good "players" are able to take each new hurdle as it gets thrown to them, and instantly deal with it in the blink of an eye - before things turn into that proverbial train wreck. Like intercepting a pass to go for the winning touchdown, there's no time to stand around and think.

The analogy also applies to things like conservation of motion (handling a few things simultaneously to save time - as long as no balls get dropped) and maximizing your staff or outside resources' time. Is everyone streamlined and working to an efficient capacity? If not, how can everyone be better utilized in their down time or between-project openings?

If you were to play Tetris, how would you score? And if you and your staff were to play as a team, is the communication of the group strong enough to drop each piece into place as neatly and elegantly as possible?

Think about it.