If you're a serious Iron Exec lifter I have no doubt you've heard the term "That was a grinder". Take the squat as an example, the grinder is when you see the bar speed slow down to a snails pace, perhaps the lifters form breaks down a little, their knees become a little valgus, their upper back begins to round a little. You will see the veins in the lifters neck stand out and they will grit their teeth and may be making some very guttural type sound, but, they complete the lift, spent and exhausted. We have all been there. I would posit one of two things happened. That lifter just completed a new PR lift or they were completing as would be measured on an RPE scale (Rate of Perceived Exertion) a very difficult lift near their maximum threshold.
Now compare this to when you see a champion bodybuilder or powerlifter complete a set of squats. They move like a metronome. Each reps cadence looks identical. Their form is immaculate. They make the lift look so efficient. Does it mean they aren't trying? Does it mean they got no benefit from that set? Far from it! The time under tension, the total volume has created great stimulus for their body. To the untrained however, if someone was to watch those two lifts they would likely say the grinder was the trainer who worked harder. This, of course is not true. Both lifters are working hard but are perhaps at different ends of the experience spectrum. the grinder may be just a beginner, or they may be peaking for a competition. The efficient lifter may have had the same load as the grinder and so in essence has created far more volume and muscle protein synthesis but because of their lifting maturity they've made it look easy.
This squat example is there to demonstrate that grinding and efficiency in life often go hand in hand. You can't become efficient unless you are prepared to grind. You may see that leader in the office who makes decision making look easy. They handle pressure with aplomb and they know their way around their work in such an efficient manner that you are in awe. Not only that, they are still measured and considered. They aren't just going through the motions. They are capable of still challenging their approach cause they've developed a particularly strong, but efficient, ability to think clearly and objectively. Do you think this person got there without grinding in their career? Of course not. They've had to really work at things and there has been times in their career where they really have had to grind. Perhaps they grind every night, when no ones is watching. Reading, learning, replaying decisions over in their mind and reflecting on what is the right approach. See how the grind and efficient are intertwined. You can't have one without the other.
To put an exclamation point on this concept, I will leave you with a quote from Winston Churchill. Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, leader of the allied forces during WWII. The same man who created a small cottage with his own hands and laid the bricks. Churchill also published 43 books and 1000's of articles throughout his life. He had periods of significant grind. Like when he was tossed from parliament only to return as Prime Minister. He said "200 bricks and 2000 words a day". Churchill demonstrated for us all to embrace the grind and become efficient.