Andy Grove’s quantum leap was to apply manufacturing production principles to the “soft professions,” the administrative, professional, and managerial ranks. He sought to “create an environment that values and emphasizes output” and to avoid what Drucker termed the “activity trap”: “[S]tressing output is the key to increasing productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.”
There’s a different school of thought that values outcomes just as much, or even higher than output, stressing the bigger picture and challenging employees to see how output impacts the company’s customers and employees above simply pushing for outputs.
