In dealings with hundreds of business owners, we look for common traits that distinguish the winners from the rest. We focus on these traits, but you should be aware of how valuable these resources are, and how they can and should help you.
The ability to prioritize (similar to the ability to delegate, and to make decisions) is very near the top in traits all winners have. Winners prioritize what needs to be done, and do it, irrelevant of their desire to do it, or the ease or magnitude of the particular task.
It is done by prioritizing every day into A-B-C categories, with “A’s” being must do’s, “B’s” being good value and important, but not critical (big difference), and “C’s”, once classified as such, probably not done at all, or delegated out to another capable person to complete. By the way, this process should take less than 5 minutes of your morning. Better yet, do it the night before. You will sleep better.
Successful owners tend to understand the true value of each item on their “to-do” list, and prioritize according to value received for completed project, tangible or intangible. They ignore the toughness of completing the project, and focus on reaching completion ASAP.
Mediocre owners tend to always find a reason to defer these “A” items, live with much higher stress levels, see their business lose opportunities at best, and decline dramatically at worst. They end up feeling worse than if they had acted, no matter what the result. Think about how you see this in your kids with homework for example, or how much it bothers you when you delegate to a manager, and they do not prioritize and do the job.
Ironically, this is a very common complaint by owners about their staff; that they delegate and the job does not get done. Could their staff be following an example from higher up? If you don’t prioritize, don’t expect the rest of your company to see or understand the importance of it.
“A” items are best done early in the day, while your energy levels are high, and the completion of these will relieve big burdens from the rest of your day, and free up valuable energy for even more “A” items. It’s a catch 22. If you do not do them early, you will worry about them anyway, so get them done. Often, you can have multiple “A” items going forward at one time, by getting others started doing their part, or getting processes started in other ways. Once started, they become easier to finish. They almost force you to finish them.
As an example, if you are going to have to fire someone today, or otherwise put out some bad news, the longer in the day you wait, the more YOU suffer. Why should you suffer? Do it and get it behind you! If you have to call an irate customer, do it early. You will often find that by being a good listener, the problem can be defused easier than you thought. Bingo, a better day ahead already. In the worst case, if you can’t change their view, you have still completed the task.
Need to call a meeting that you know will be trouble, but just can’t seem to do it. Do it! Think through the agenda, and have the meeting. Again, you may find the issue was less of a problem than you thought. And again, it is behind you.
Prioritizing meetings is absolutely critical. If a moderator (you) does not keep it on track, on-time, and focused, the probability of anything getting accomplished is small. If people do not come to a meeting focused, they should not come. If each person knows they have 5 minutes (for example) to present their case, they will be much more likely to prioritize.
The follow-up list from the meeting should have most items with due dates for completion and implementation within 24-48 hours. If substantial progress is not made in that time span, it will just be a topic again at the next meeting.
If getting a banker started with his long process of evaluation and approval is necessary, provide the information he needs, get him started, and move on to another “A” item.
If really studying a proposal is necessary before making a critical decision, do it now. You can then either make the decision, or send in back for more information.
If explaining to a subordinate or manager improves their style in the future, why would you not have that talk with them? Once corrected they will make future decisions better, and you will avoid recurring problems. Encourage them to do the same with their subordinates.
If taking that time to “manage by walking around” has always given you a high payback in the past, do it daily. If a half hour of your time improves hundreds of hours of others time, that is time well spent. What a way to leverage.
Things such as looking at computer types, phone systems, copier replacements, are better left to delegate to others, with you making the final decision based on their prep work. Focus your time on those things that ONLY you can do.
“Feel good” “pep-rally” meetings are useless unless you address the real issues head-on, and make the meeting a results oriented meeting.
Stop phone calls in the early AM to avoid interruptions until you have set your day and accomplished (or started in process) at least 3 “A” items.
Call people and bring closure to items quickly and decisively. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t hang up until you have reached a resolution. Avoid repeat and return calls to settle minor issues. Resolve it now.
Not quickly addressing important issues is business suicide.
Making a nice neat list, and staring at it, gets you nowhere. Just jump in and start doing the most dreaded decision. It likely is the one that is most important.
Admit it. You go home most nights feeling bad and guilty that you did not prioritize you day properly, and then come back a do the same thing the next day. This is a mental health issue for owners.
An empty in-basket is not necessarily a good thing. It’s how you got it empty that counts!
Going home at the end of the day feels a lot better doing it the right way. Try it!
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