How much time do you have every week to spend on your key priorities?
If you look at your week, normally one day is taken up by replying to emails, one day by managing crises, one day by attending internal meetings. Therefore, the actual amount of time most people have for their key priorities is much smaller than they think.
In this video, I want to share one simple piece of advice to improve your performance.
I have the pleasure of working with many leaders around the world. One of the topics we always discuss is how to spend more time on key priorities. One of the big issues I see in a number of companies is that people have put a big ‘S ‘at the end of the word priorities. Most leaders are trying to manage far too many priorities. There is a wonderful saying:
“ If everything is important, nothing is.”
A few years ago, the Harvard Business Review published a fascinating study. They wanted to explore if there was a relationship between the number of priorities in a business and the revenue growth. Their finding is quite conclusive: there is an inverse correlation between the number of priorities and the revenue growth.
Let me clarify this: the more priorities a business has, the less likely they are to grow their revenue.
Most people think the opposite: the more priorities we have, the better our performance. Actually, in reality the opposite is true.
My suggestion would be therefore to choose two to three priorities every quarter. Let me repeat this: two to three. Not five, not fifteen. Just two or three. Block 30 minutes every quarter and ask yourself this ‘what are the two to three priorities that if I focus on will have the most impact long term on my performance and the performance of my business?’
Be clear about your priorities, write them down, keep them in front of view.
This process will do a few things for you: Firstly, it will clarify your real priorities. Secondly, it will help you to make some tough decisions about what you are not going to do. Finally, it will create a great momentum around these three priorities rather than trying to do too many things and ending up doing everything poorly.
This is this week’s Work Smart: Live Better tip. I hope you enjoy it. Have a lovely day!
A bientôt,
Cyril
