It took me a while to decide on an overall theme for this post. Primarily because priority comes hand in hand with another area I frequently speak to clients about, and that is Worth.
After all, Prioritize is defined by the Online Etymology Dictionary as :
to designate as worthy of priority.
Organizational coaches (not those amazing folks who help out in your organization, but those who specialize in helping you organize your lives and tasks) are huge proponents in understanding how to prioritize and schedule your work day/week/month/ year.
To be honest, I am not the greatest at that level of planning/organizing. My Wife happens to be MUCH better at it, and every day I am grateful for that.
She introduced me to the Rocketbook series of notebooks - this is not a sponsored post by the way - and within their lineup is the Panda Planner.
For me, this depth became more of a time-sink; to manually have to get back to every day. It became a distract tool, rather than an impact tool.
That is not to say of course it is not an amazing system, and I was extremely impressed by its depth, its functionality, and its commitment to helping users organize their thoughts and processes... it simply was not for me.
But I digress...
From a business perspective, priority takes on a deeper meaning.
For example, if a factory produces multiple items, how do you determine what products to prioritize in the manufacturing process?
Is it the products with the most unit sales?
The products with the lowest raw material cost?
The products that provide the highest GP Margins?
These of course are questions best answered by individual companies, and the answer will change depending on strategic objectives (more on this in a later blog post!)
The prioritization process will look like different things to different people within a company of course -
Nothing is more important than payroll to accountants at specific periods. Hitting targets is all that matters for Salespeople at the end of a month.
But what do you do when a wrench is thrown into the works? When a perfectly thought-out daily plan is interrupted by a task.
In video game parlance they would say "Here comes a new challenger!"
The most successful companies have the ability to do as 'Ross' said in Season 5 Episode 16 of 'Friends': Pivot.
It is incredibly important to prioritize. However, knowing when those priorities must be adjusted and making the quick pivot is key to success in your organization.
The pandemic showed many organizations the need for nimble decision-making and adjustments. Those who stuck firm and hard to their original strategies may have had a level of resilience to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, but the true success stories of the period were the companies that adapted, flexed and retooled for not just resilience, but for growth.
As the title implies sometimes our priorities can become Priori-Ties: Locking us in place, and slowing our reaction time to changing environmental factors. Lowering our efficiency for the sake of (what appears to be) staying the course.
Something I find myself saying often recently:
Sometimes, you must do what you can before you can do what you must.
All this means, is if something comes up that requires immediate attention, pulling you forcibly from your preplanned tasks, do not beat yourself up too much over it.
When you and your organization find peace in the flexibility of achievement of your goals, it can be truly an Omazing Sight...
It would be remiss of me not to mention an important derivative of this discussion.
Many mental health specialists (including my good friends at https://exploringplanbe.com/) explain the concept a bit differently, to include times when you MUST rest, and there is no shame in taking time to process.
Priori-Ties can Paralyze... so, feel free to flex.
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