Prioritize Using a What-if Filter
by Miki SaxonI was discussing performance (his) with a client today, and he said, “One thing I’m finding out is that it’s absolutely necessary to rest. The more rested I am, the better I am as a CEO. I’m too tired, much of the time, have too much busy work. I actually feel guilty when I’m not working to my maximum or over it—I need to change my mindset.”
He’s right—and it applies to every level, from execs to admin. Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS, who works nine to five and doesn’t bring work home, discourages his employees from working extra hours. He says, “Quite frankly, the type of programming that goes on in the employee’s ninth and tenth hour is usually thrown away the next day — it’s usually not very good. You just start making mistakes -— you get sloppy.
“I would rather you go home and rest, and come back fresh the next morning, instead of spending all morning correcting mistakes made last night when you were too tired.” (I recently cited this interview in another post)
If you, too, want to get rid of busy work, change your mindset and get to know your family/community/hobbies/etc. again, here’s how to start.
- Separate out everything you can delegate or outsource. This often requires a change in your MAP, the part that accepts that others can do the work, whether they do it in the same way as you or not, and the results will be at the least adequate, possibly better. (It’s called letting go and it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially for entrepreneurs and owners.)
- Take what’s left on your list and evaluate it on a what-if scale. That means you run each task against the question, “What really happens if this doesn’t get done today or this week?” Will the earth shift on its axis? Will a thunderbolt strike? Will our competitors kill us? Will our customers desert us? Will our employees revolt? Will the company fold?
Although similar to prioritizing, this is different. Most prioritizing is done in a now mode that often gives stuff a higher priority than it deserves. Running it though the what-if filter adds a reality check that frequently removes the item from “today” and, at times, from the list completely.
I have yet to have a manager do this who wasn’t amazed at the results and at the amount of time that was suddenly available.
Just remember, that new time isn’t for more work, it’s for more rest, fun, bonding, etc., both inside and outside of work.
Once you learn to use a what-if filter, share the skill with your organization, and watch both productivity and retention improve.
