The drive for efficiency has gone too far in my estimation. “But efficiency is always good,” you might protest. True, productivity gains increase incremental profits all else equal. But “all else equal” rarely holds true in practice. Therefore, like all good things pushed too far, gains from incremental efficiency initiatives may not be worth the price paid to secure them. Why is the Efficiency Goddess who brought us big box miracles like Staples, online retailing and record corporate cash balances failing us? Efficiency initiatives usually pay attention only to readily measurable costs, ignoring unintended consequences and opportunity costs. Why do CIOs limit support to only PC-computers? Why do CFOs reduce support staff, forcing administrative work onto revenue-generating managers? Such is the thinking of modern corporate managers: They are brilliant at measuring costs and lousy at measuring professional productivity. Shortsighted trade-offs are magnified as…