Optimization in the workplace = efficiency. What do we do when something's not working the way we want to? We optimize it! In the business of advertising for our clients, changes are necessary and sometimes often. But do we ever really take into account our "small" optimization wins?
Celebrate little victories
Don't underestimate the compounding effect of marginal gains in efficiency...while easy to overlook, the impact becomes more evident the longer your time horizon is.
Let's celebrate the tiny victories! What is a small improvement, optimization, or automation you've made recently?
Putting it to the test
To prove the point, let's take as an example the single mouse-click of a button that manually updates something on your screen. Now, say we find a way to update your default settings and remove the need for you to exert that fraction of a newton of downward force with your index finger. Great! We just shaved maybe four seconds off that repetitive task. Not a big deal, right? Wrong!
What if that click was part of a task that you routinely complete around 250 times each month - not a stretch of the imagination for some roles - still not a big deal, right? It's seemingly insignificant from this perspective.
But what about ten years from now? Your company has doubled in size, and then doubled again. That same task that you were completing is now being completed by nine others and at the same rate.
And the results...
So what happened to that four seconds you saved? Let's take a look...
Year One: 1 person, 250 tasks per month x 12 months = 12,000 seconds, 200 minutes, or 3.3 hours of annualized time savings.
Year Ten: 10 people, 2,500 tasks per month x 12 months = 120,000 minutes, 2,000 minutes, 33.3 hours of annualized time savings.
By year 10, your team could have been spending over an entire day combined clicking a single button.
Let that sink in before you shrug off your latest "small" optimization!
