Many managers are using the rifle approach - focusing on how to deliver their products and services faster, better and cheaper. This nose to the grindstone approach can be detrimental to the business in the long term if you miss the opportunity to innovate, reinvent your business and grow new revenue streams.

Make sure that a significant amount of effort is focused externally on the marketplace and not always inward creating conflict and competition within your organization.

While the record companies were busy fighting online piracy of music, Steve Jobs at Apple opened iTunes and has sold more than 4 billion song downloads. During this same time record companies were chasing down piracy instead of embracing a new distribution model. The same thing can happen to you when you get so focused on your business model, you aren't able to see what isn't there.

You are seeing the same thing happen in the newspaper business, and the television broadcasting business. In fact if you looked at the list of original companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average back in 1896 - only one company still exists - General Electric - and that company is a very different, modern company that makes sure it is in profitable, growing businesses. It has reinvented itself many times.

Here is how to avoid the efficiency trap

First realize that in addition to finding ways of making more money doing what you currently do, you also need to be ready and willing to reinvent yourself. Instead of keeping your head down, lift your head up and focus some of your time looking outside of your business. Attend conferences, read books, look at what other industries are doing, not just other companies in your same industry. Encourage employees, customers, suppliers to give ideas. Remember that the greatest innovations that can leapfrog your business ahead could be from adapting something happening in another industry.

You can apply the same thinking to your career

If you are an achievement oriented person, you might lock into a career that you think will be rewarding and prosperous only to find that one day, the world has changed and suddenly you are forced to start over. So by all means focus on doing your current job to the best of your ability and at the same time increase your awareness of what's going on around you and be prepared to adapt and change. Take courses to continue your learning and stay open and flexible.

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