--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If initiative is the ability to do the…" description: "\"If initiative is the ability to do the right thing, then efficiency is the ability to do the thing right.\" — Kelly Miller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/kelly-miller-23805_ability_if-initiative-is-the-ability-to-do-the-r_870510.png" --- # If initiative is the ability to do the right thing, then… ![“If initiative is the ability to do the right thing, then efficiency is the ability to do the thing right.” quote by Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/kelly-miller-23805_ability_if-initiative-is-the-ability-to-do-the-r_870510.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/kelly-miller-23805_ability_if-initiative-is-the-ability-to-do-the-r_870510.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/517/kelly-miller-23805_ability_if-initiative-is-the-ability-to-do-the-r_870510.png) > “If initiative is the ability to do the right thing, then efficiency is the ability to do the thing right.” [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Initiative is choosing the right action; efficiency is executing it flawlessly. **In simple terms:** Initiative picks the right thing; efficiency does it well. Key Takeaway Balance vision with execution. Themes leadership productivity process improvement Mood inspirational pragmatic Type leadership motivational When to use this quote - project management - team dynamics Key Concepts decision making execution Questions to Reflect On - How do you foster both in teams? - When does efficiency hinder creativity? A Different Perspective Efficiency without initiative can be misdirected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Efficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efficiency/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) ## Related quotes > [Courage is the ability to do the right thing, all the time, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dungy/courage-is-the-ability-to-do-the-right-thing-all-the-time-no-matter/) [Tony Dungy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dungy/) > [“Nothing is worth the loss of one's conscience, or the ability to do what is right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-morgan/nothing-is-worth-the-loss-of-one-s-conscience-or-the-ability-to-do/) [Kathleen Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-morgan/) > [Have confidence in your ability to do it right, and work hard to do the best possible job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/have-confidence-in-your-ability-to-do-it-right-and-work-hard-to-do/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Ability is all right but if it is not backed up by honesty and public confidence you will never be a successful person. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/ability-is-all-right-but-if-it-is-not-backed-up-by-honesty-and-public/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“That no matter what happens, loving someone to the best of your ability is the right thing to do. 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Liberals say government can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/conservatives-say-the-government-can-t-end-poverty-by-force-but-they/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [Japan is already a leader in energy efficiency, and it has a wealth of innovative technologies. 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The creation of skills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shuttleworth/there-are-many-examples-of-companies-and-countries-that-have-improved/) [Mark Shuttleworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shuttleworth/) > [Performance matters because games are built on great performance, but form factor and energy efficiency matter incredibly because they want to build something that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jensen-huang/performance-matters-because-games-are-built-on-great-performance-but/) [Jensen Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jensen-huang/) ## More by Kelly Miller > [I see that the path of progress has never taken a straight line, but has always been a zigzag course amid the conflicting forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/i-see-that-the-path-of-progress-has-never-taken-a-straight-line-but/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [Genius has no age, no country, no race; it belongs to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/genius-has-no-age-no-country-no-race-it-belongs-to-mankind/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [In 1917 - as we have seen, - Italy suffered a great reverse, losing 200,000 soldiers and immense supplies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/in-1917-as-we-have-seen-italy-suffered-a-great-reverse-losing-200-000/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [With Germany herself falling, it is not strange that the nations leagued with her also went down to defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/with-germany-herself-falling-it-is-not-strange-that-the-nations/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [... conscienceless efficiency is no match for efficiency quickened by conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/conscienceless-efficiency-is-no-match-for-efficiency-quickened-by/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [For a century after the reign of Frederick, Prussia remained the most prominent Germanic state in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/for-a-century-after-the-reign-of-frederick-prussia-remained-the-most/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [No American can read the story of the part America took in the war without experiencing a glow of patriotic feeling. 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