Marketing Matters, Business North
Published June 2026
When I first began working in a corporate environment one of the books I read was Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive. It was so packed with gems that for several years I read it at least once a year.
The first chapter is “Effectiveness Can Be Learned” and the opening sentence pierces like an arrow: “To be effective is the job of the executive.” But right away Drucker underscores this by letting his readers know that there’s a big difference between effectiveness and efficiency. “The executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done.”
This distinction seems simple at first glance but it becomes more profound the longer you think about it. Efficiency, he said, is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things. In marketing, it’s easy to confuse the two.
Many of us admire speed, productivity, automation, optimization, and multitasking. We celebrate go-getters who answer emails quickly, process orders rapidly, and fill every square on their calendars with activity. Entire industries have emerged to help us become more efficient. Software dashboards track our productivity. AI tools now promise to save hours. Consultants teach workflows, systems, and hacks.
None of this is inherently bad. Efficiency has value. But efficiency applied to the wrong objective simply gets you to the wrong destination faster.
And that’s Drucker’s point. A company can become incredibly efficient at producing products no one wants. A sales team can efficiently pursue low-quality leads. A marketing department can perfectly execute campaigns directed to the wrong audience. A manager can spend an entire day clearing emails and attending meetings without advancing the organization’s mission a single inch. (I can tell you stories about meetings.)
In other words, efficiency asks: “How well are we doing this?” Effectiveness asks: “Should we even be doing this at all?”
I'm guessing the marketplace is littered with businesses that were highly efficient right before they disappeared.
The railroad industry is a classic example. Many railroads believed they were in the railroad business when in reality they were in the transportation business. They became very good at operating railroads while airplanes, trucking, and automobiles redefined how people and goods moved across the country. They optimized the old model while the world changed around them. What works in Italy or Japan doesn't necessarily make sense here. Yet AMTRACK continues to burn (taxpayer) money while advocates push for new trains in California and here in Minnesota. Bite the bullet. Why this waste?
The same thing happens on a smaller scale every day. It’s probably not uncommon for business owners to obsess over reducing printing costs for their brochures without ever stopping to ask whether the brochure itself has any value. This is where marketing often goes sideways.
Many marketing conversations today revolve around metrics that look impressive but may not matter. I've written about this before. Clicks, impressions, views, followers, open rates, engagement percentages--these can all be useful indicators worth paying attention to, but they are not the ultimate question.
The ultimate question is simpler: Is this helping us achieve our real objective? If the goal is sales growth, are sales increasing? If the goal is customer loyalty, are customers returning? If the goal is brand awareness, are more qualified prospects entering the pipeline? If the goal is trust, are people recommending us to others? It's easy to become mesmerized by measurable activity while losing sight of meaningful outcomes.
This is why effectiveness requires clarity. You can't do the right things if you don't clearly define what “right” means.
I used to have a handwritten note taped on my wall where I could see it every day that said, "Nothing Unnecessary." I enjoyed multitasking and super-productivity. Then, early in my career, I got a review in which my boss pointed out that I was on a team. Relationships matter, too. "Stop and smell the roses," he said. He respected my output but reminded me that efficiency can be a trap.
In other words, as in much of life we need to find the Golden Mean.
Drucker famously said, "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." That statement should probably be taped to every office wall.
This takes discipline because effectiveness often requires saying no. No to distractions.
No to shiny new toys. No to strategies that are fashionable but misaligned with your mission.
No to activities that consume time but produce little value.
In marketing especially, the temptation is to chase every new platform, every trend, every tactic, every algorithm change.
But effective marketing begins with understanding your customer, understanding your message, and understanding your purpose. Only then does efficiency become meaningful. Otherwise, we risk becoming very busy while accomplishing very little.
The challenge for leaders today is not merely improving execution. It is developing the wisdom to distinguish between activity and progress. Because the marketplace ultimately does not reward businesses that are merely active. It rewards businesses that are effective.
