“To succeed today, you have to set priorities.”
Lee Iacocca, U.S. Automobile Executive
In last month’s insights, you were encouraged to assess the data you have obtained as you “looked in the mirror.” Hopefully, from that assessment, you have identified some opportunities for improvement within your organization. The challenge now becomes determining your next steps.
That first step is to prioritize those improvements that you want to implement. As author Dan Millman said so well: ‘I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything… at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.’ This prioritization should define the criterion for what makes a specific issue a priority. The prioritization criterion should consider those improvements that will reap the greatest desired results, as well as those improvements that can be addressed quickly (i.e., “low hanging fruit).
The objective is to be narrow in focus so you can create change quickly. Aldridge Kerr encourages our Clients to follow our proprietary methodology referred to as “Doable, Chewable Chunks.” This methodology recommends focusing on those improvements that are your highest priority (based on your defined criterion), so they are manageable, organized, and doable within a reasonable time period. Using this approach, it provides for several benefits including but not limited to:
- Produces results more quickly
- Breaks insurmountable tasks/goals/projects into doable, manageable pieces
- Resulting in projects (and in this case, improvements) being done on time and within budget
- Provides a simple, “doable” approach to getting a bigger-than-life task completed
- Is not an intimidating approach
- Allows non-technical, end users (i.e., “real people”) to attack a difficult problem and realize benefits and/or desired results
Identifying, then focusing on those improvements that are your highest priority will ultimately reap your greatest results quickly. This will allow you to address those areas that were identified while “looking in the mirror.”