We must learn how to escape the “Efficiency Trap” and find peace of mind. Being efficient is good, but it can become counterproductive when it becomes an obsession.
One should not see investing in conversations on well-being of colleagues and subordinates as a waste of time. Letting one’s hair down with friends rejuvenates us. It is not a loss of valuable time.
Some people avoid taking risks to reduce their chances of failure. That way they perceive themselves are efficient, since they aren’t making mistakes. They are overly careful of anything they do or say. They rarely commit to anything and avoid taking responsibility. They assume that the safe haven of being error-free at work will help them rise in the cut-throat work environment.
Sadly, this kind of thinking is encouraged in most target-oriented and loss averse corporate cultures of today.
Efficient people do not enjoy working with people whom they perceive as stupid and prone to mistakes. Having an ‘inefficient’ person on one’s team can be extremely frustrating for a perfectionist. They see their carefully crafted career graph at risk because of someone whose actions they have no control over.
But, is this really a healthy work culture? It stifles the growth mindset that thrives in risk-taking and making mistakes. Thomas Edison tried a thousand materials in search of a good light bulb filament. When none worked, his assistant complained, “All our work is in vain.” Edison replied, “Don’t worry, we’ve learned a lot. We know that there are a thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”
We shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes. Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” To create a happy and stress-free work environment, leaders must learn to integrate failings as an acceptable element of being efficient, and not obsess after constant ‘tightening’ to reduce shortcomings in the endeavour to make systems perfect and ensure zero losses. Mark Twain concurred, “Good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from poor judgement.”
The spiritual take on this is very different. There is no such thing as a mistake. Sorry but you couldn’t make one even if you tried! There is a situation, a set of circumstances, and then, there’s action and reaction. That’s all. There’s nothing except this moment. One could call it “The wisdom of no mistakes”. If we can realise this, we become free of fear of failure. Since the only place that we really live is in this moment, mistakes can actually be perceived as a gift.
In the Zen tradition, mistakes are seen as learning. They are perfect opportunities to keep us grounded in the present moment. In fact, the state of “no mistakes” is sometimes called “nowness.” It’s said that mistakes can be great teachers and tolerating people who make mistakes can help us grow spiritually. The Russian teacher Gurdjieff had a community in France. One man there constantly annoyed everyone by creating arguments and irritating them. The community repeatedly asked Gurdjieff to send him away. But Gurdjieff never did. Much later, once he died, the people were shocked to find out that he had actually been paying the fellow to stay there and heckle everyone! Gurdjieff had been using the man to teach his community tolerance. Being human and being efficient aren’t opposites. Efficient people can be sensitive to the needs of others as well. When one accepts systems as living, growing and failure-prone entities, breakdowns and collapses are tolerated, and on rare occasions, even celebrated to rejuvenate and recharge a tired and deflated workforce.
Deepam Chatterjee is the author of The Millennial Yogi, Penguin Random House India. He is on Instagram @deepam.chatterjee