THE RAINMAKER: So Much To Do, But What Should You Tackle First?
It seems that every day within companies, there are decisions made about what to do and what not to do. Too frequently, the criteria for these decisions are determined in the moment. It's called seat-of-the-pants decision making because we have too little time and too much to do. With limited resources and tight budgets, is there a better way when prioritizing activities?
To answer this question I turn first to Stephen Covey and an analogy from his book "First Things First." In front of you on the table is a cylinder, some rocks, gravel, sand and water. The cylinder represents a typical day. The rocks are the top priorities; the "must do" things that need to get done. The gravel, meanwhile, represents day-to-day activities, the sand represents interruptions, and the water is everything else that fills up a day. The challenge is to get everything on the table into the cylinder.
Many would start by pouring the water into the cylinder, followed by the sand, then the gravel and, last, the rocks. What usually happens is the rocks won't fit. This is too frequently the typical day, in which the top priorities carry forward to tomorrow's to-do list.
Start With The Rocks
Rocks are top priorities for a reason. Start with them. Once the rocks are in the cylinder, then add the gravel. It will naturally fill in the gaps. Follow the gravel with the sand and even more gaps get filled in. Finally, pour in the water so that there are no gaps and everything fits.
Covey's analogy is very good because it's easy to understand. What's challenging is identifying the rocks. For that, let me offer some guidelines for you to consider.
Obviously, the value of an activity is the No. 1 consideration. Understand the value of activities relative to each other and the value of an activity's impact on goal achievement. Then, spend 80 percent of your time on the 20 percent of activities that deliver the highest value. These are your rocks. For the 80 percent of activities that are not value drivers, delegate, automate, outsource or eliminate them.
To assess value, begin by calculating start-up costs, time frames and the impact on cash flow. The length of time for an activity to produce tangible financial results directly impacts the decision on whether to do it. This is a question of cash flow; the longer the ramp-up time, the longer the drain on cash flow. An activity can have a great ROI, or return-on-investment potential, but if you can't afford to do it, so what?
Is It Worth Doing?
Weigh the profitability impact of competing activities. If an activity passes the affordability threshold, then you can accommodate the ROI and profitability calculation. You're in business to make money. Determine the profit return of an activity over a specific time frame, and assess whether it meets your profit goals. If it doesn't, seriously consider whether it's worth doing.
Consider work flow and production output. Everyone is already running flat out. Therefore, any new activity requires a choice: What am I going to stop doing, or compromise doing, in order to take on the new activity? This is an ROI question. The activity with the greater ROI should receive top priority.
What happens if I don't perform an activity? This is a question of assessing the impact of inactivity. You can elect to take no action, and that will produce a result. Is that result from non-action viable, affordable and acceptable?
Your choices are relatively simple and limited. You can do it, not do it, delegate it, automate it, outsource it or eliminate it. The activities you elect to perform are your rocks and your gravel. Prioritize them appropriately. Then proceed, looking for progressive improvement instead of delayed perfection. If an activity should be done, start doing it. Don't plan for perfection. Achieve results through action.
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Ken Cook is an author, as well as founder and managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors, which helps business leaders of small and mid-sized companies. His column, The Rainmaker, will appear in every other print edition of the Worcester Business Journal. Cook is a resident of Wales. You can reach him at kcook@peertopeeradvisors.com.
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