The easy question sometimes plays the role of the hardest question. We’ll see…
What system (paper, software, methodology, whatever) do you use to manage ToDos, Goals and Priorities on an annual, monthly, weekly and daily basis?
That question is part of a critical “intake” interview for new customers because managers, CEOs and company officers usually have a ToDo/Goal system that they use to organize and prioritize the work they do.
Typically, they’re using that system because of a book they read, a seminar they attended or because they were referred to it by someone whose productivity they admired. The last one tends to be the most prevalent source of the system that my clients are using, if they’re using anything. The “where I found the system” really isn’t important, but the referring person is. Pay attention to their habits and it will pay off.
Urgent!
If you have a system, the most important aspect of it is that you use it consistently. It isn’t easy though. It can be a battle reminding / forcing yourself to focus on that system consistently every single day – particularly given life’s ever-present desire to inject other priorities.
If your daily focus doesn’t use your chosen productivity mechanism, you’re probably working as Covey describes – on the urgent but unimportant. You may roll your eyes because you’ve heard that phrase so many times – but does “urgent but unimportant” work still monopolize your daily routine?
Tougher questions
The next five questions are a little tougher:
- What percentage of last year’s goals did you achieve?
- What percentage of last month’s goals did you achieve?
- Did you complete 100% of last week’s goals? If not, what percentage did you complete?
- Did you complete 100% of the items on yesterday’s ToDo list? If not, what percentage did you complete?
- Are you happy with those results?
If you’re happy with your answers and using your system on a daily basis, that’s great news – you can skip to the next section.
If you’re doing well but want to get better – Typically this is caused by a lack of daily use of the system that’s clearly working for you. Focus on your system more frequently, fine tune what works and get rid of the parts that don’t. It’s possible you’ll need a system better suited to your desired level of accomplishment / productivity. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know whether you’ve given the system a real chance to help you.
If you’re seriously disappointed with your level of accomplishment (not just “well, I can do better”), the current system may not work for you, but it’s more likely that you aren’t using it often enough (or at all). If you’re using it daily and are still disappointed, it’s probably time for a new system.
If you need a new system, ask the most productive person you know to show you what they use.
But wait, there’s more
Now that we’ve determined whether or not you have a system for getting more of the right things done, how well it works for you, whether or not you need to use it more often, or that you need a new system, it’s time to ask the questions you rarely get asked.
What system (paper, software, methodology, nothing) does YOUR STAFF use to manage ToDos, Goals and priorities on an annual, monthly, weekly and daily basis?
After refocusing on your entire business, ask yourself these six questions:
- What percentage of last year’s goals did your staff achieve?
- What percentage of last month’s goals did your staff achieve?
- Did your staff complete 100% of last week’s goals? If not, what percentage were completed?
- Did your staff complete 100% of the items on yesterday’s ToDo list? If not, what percentage were completed?
- Are you happy with those numbers?
- Are they happy with those numbers?
It’s not unusual for highly-productive business owners to be shocked with themselves if their staff has no system.
Business owners who have worked hard to select and refine their own personal productivity system sometimes “forget” to pass that training and system on to their staff, much less implement a company-wide system that manages the ToDos / goals / priorities of their entire business. When they hear these questions, it hits home.
How are you and your staff doing?
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on Twitter, or email him at [email protected].