I never said anything about plotting, depth, meaning or pantsting one way or the other.
I was suggesting that an efficient writer, at one extreme, will, for example, use a clichéd plot device because it is expedient in getting character A to Plot Point B. How it impacts theme, meaning, depth or character is irrelevant. On the other hand, when writers are going for something 'more', which could be anything from social commentary to a tighter, more earned story, they necessarily have to spend more time working on it - exploring. It's math.
Conversely, when we abandon the extremes in favor of a more tempered approach, we can find a path that gives us enough 'more' to satisfy, and do so in a timely manner by adhering to some workable process. This is my approach. I plot nothing. I rework/edit/rewrite my stories to death - in search of 'more'. But, depending on the situation, I have no problem with clichés or similar tools if they better serve the story. Sometimes, the long way just isn't the best way, which is why some 'telling' is plenty okay.
Efficiency <-----PROCESS-----> Something More