3 Oct 2026 · 4 min
Brian Johnson contrasts efficiency with effectiveness, using a Whole Foods employee who ignored his greeting as an example of how task-focused speed damages relationships. Stephen Covey's insight: be efficient with tasks, effective with people. Slow down when it matters.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic Plus One. In the last Plus One, we chatted about the joys of being on the receiving end of presence and celebratory love. After we said goodbye to our new friends, I told Emerson how amazing that grandma was and how rare it is to find someone who is so genuinely, enthusiastically interested in another human being. I told him that his mom is exactly like that. I get tears in my eyes. Her ability to connect with and learn about and celebrate another human being is one of her most special gifts. He said that the grandma reminded him of his Nama. And I said, exactly. She's one of the absolutely best at that, which is one of the reasons Mommy is so good at it. I encouraged him to cultivate that presence and interest in others. Then we chatted about how rare it is in today's world. As it turns out, we chatted about the opposite of that experience. He and I just an hour earlier. Quick context, on our way to the hotel a couple days ago, we stopped at Whole Foods for food for the first couple days. We needed to go back today, right? So I called Whole Foods to see if they had some organic rotisserie chickens already prepared so we could swing by and pick a couple up. And it was only 8 o'clock in the morning. There were a couple different ones we can go to. I wanted to make sure the one we went to had what we were looking for. Now, whenever I call anyone for something like this, I always start by saying, hi, how are you? Before I get into the details of the call, I like to at least try to connect human to human before doing what needs to get done. It's always interesting to notice how the individual on the other side responds to the question. Some are super positive and we have a great little connection, and some don't even respond to my question. This morning, the guy answered the phone. Whole Foods Prepared Foods. How can I help? I said, hi, how are you? To which he just ignored my question and replied in a curt, kind of impatient and dismissive-ish tone, how can I help? Awkward. Okay. Now, after I got off that call, Emerson and I chatted about how our excessive use of technology is reducing the frequency and depth of human connection and all that. On our drive to the tournament, though, we chatted about Stephen Covey's wisdom on the subject. Covey used to say that you can be efficient With tasks, but you want to be effective with people. Now, this guy— and I've been this guy so many times is why I can talk about it— this guy wanted to be efficient in solving my problem, but in the process, he wasn't being very effective. More importantly, I am often less effective with people when I'm trying to be too efficient with them. How about you? Today's plus one: do your tasks with all the effective efficiency You can muster. But with people, if you feel so inspired, slow down for a second, connect, prioritize being effective rather than efficient. My hunch is you'll feel a lot more connected and the people in your life will thank you. Note to self, remember to practice this. Let's go. Hey, this is Brian. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. If you enjoyed it, please hit subscribe so that the best of the show keeps landing in your feed. Then head over to heroic.us. That's heroic.us, where you'll find the full library of wisdom I've created over the last 20 years, as well as the app, advanced training programs, coaching, and everything else we've built to help you optimize your life, actualize your potential, and live heroically. It is day 1. We are all in. Let's go.
