The Action-Response Principle

How optimising the system can quietly erode value
By Deano Gomes-Luis

Efficiency is almost universally celebrated.
Faster turnaround.
Lower cost.
Fewer hand–offs.
Less friction.
In most organisations, efficiency is treated as an unquestioned good – a proxy for competence, discipline, and maturity.
And yet, some of the strongest negative reactions I’ve seen from customers have emerged from initiatives designed to be more efficient.

I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly in well–intentioned transformation efforts. Processes are streamlined. Variability is reduced. Decisions are automated. The system works exactly as designed.
Internally, the change is declared a success.
Externally, frustration rises.
What looks like progress on the inside can feel like disregard on the outside.

The problem isn’t efficiency itself.
It’s efficiency applied without regard for expectation.
Efficiency optimises the system from the organisation’s point of view. Customers, however, experience the system at the point of interaction – where context, timing, and meaning matter as much as speed.
When efficiency removes flexibility, explanation, or human judgement at that moment, response can shift quickly from neutral to negative.

You see this when:
Faster processes feel abrupt rather than helpful
Standardisation feels dismissive rather than consistent
Automation feels like avoidance rather than service
Nothing has “gone wrong” operationally.
But something has gone wrong experientially.

This is why efficiency gains can sometimes trigger anger rather than appreciation.
Customers don’t respond to efficiency in the abstract.
They respond to how efficiency shows up in their specific situation.
When what matters to the organisation isn’t what matters to the customer in that moment, value collapses at the point of delivery.

The leaders who manage this well don’t abandon efficiency.
They contextualise it.
They recognise where efficiency is invisible – and where it is highly visible.
They protect moments where explanation, reassurance, or choice matter more than speed.
They design efficient systems that still land well at the point of interaction.
This isn’t inefficiency.
It’s precision.

Before celebrating your next efficiency win, it’s worth asking:
Where will customers feel this change – and what expectation will they bring into that moment?
If that question isn’t answered, efficiency may reduce cost while quietly increasing dissatisfaction.

Efficiency improves systems.
Response determines value.
Confusing the two is one of the fastest ways to turn optimisation into irritation.

This article reflects ideas explored more fully in Beyond Execution, where I introduce the Action–Response Principle – a way of seeing how value is formed at the point of delivery, and why strong execution alone rarely creates the impact leaders expect.