In 2025, the US (and really, the world) witnessed the rise and fall of the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly known as DOGE. Efficiency already had a bit of a branding problem, and I don’t think DOGE did much to improve the situation. As an efficiency enthusiast, I have noticed two common associations folks make with the word “efficiency”:
Layoffs: It’s no secret that large consulting companies say “capturing efficiencies” when they mean mass layoffs
Hoarding: Let’s be honest, watching the US$50 million Bezos wedding immediately preceding Amazon’s largest ever layoff is a lot like watching Scrooge McDuck dive into a pool of gold coins
I would like to offer two other possible associations.
Firstly, efficiency can be associated with sustainability. Why use more than is necessary to fulfill a customer need? Efficiency is good for business and good for the planet. (For more on this framing, I highly recommend the book Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin.)
Next, I would like to suggest that efficiency is necessary to democratize access. It’s common knowledge that when the unit cost of a physical product drops, that product becomes more accessible to more people. For example, in the early 1990s, a “big screen” TV was anything 27+ inches, and the average household owned one TV. Today the average TV size is 55+ inches, and the average household owns several TVs. For physical goods, we accept that lower costs mean more access for more people. I would like to suggest the same thing can be true for services and softwares.
A strong focus on cost to serve can mean hoarding, or it can mean expanded access. I have noticed that many software and service companies tend to treat cost to serve as an immovable number. Instead of seeking innovative approaches to optimize cost to serve, many service companies instead try to maximize the revenue or profit per customer. However, lowering cost to serve can radically expand the available market. You may reach customers who are simply not profitable for your competitors. Whether you are a manufacturing company or a services/software company, a focus on efficiency can greatly improve access for customers (and give your company a much bigger market!).
If you feel your employer is always pressuring you to be more efficient, I encourage you to get curious about the why. Even if the answer you get is something about maximizing shareholder value, it’s fair to ask a follow up question, “How does efficiency contribute to shareholder value?” You may even receive an answer that is not clearly aligned with any of the framings above! In any case, I bet it will be an illuminating line of inquiry. Have fun investigating!