I. The Universe of Opportunities

We’re often conditioned to associate the word “problem” negatively. Problems are something to be avoided, right? For purposes of this course, I’d like you to let go of that negative connotation and view “problems” as opportunities for improvement. Unfortunately, once you adopt that frame, you quickly realize you are facing way more opportunities than your time or resources allow you to resolve. One key to leading a highly effective organization is to embrace that reality and attack the problems that offer the highest-impact improvements.

II. The Filtering Toolkit

Ok, so we’ve been introduced to “The Universe of Opportunities” and embraced the “Rule of Perpetual Frustration”. In so doing, we now understand and accept that there will always be more worthy problems to solve than time and energy available to solve them. We’ve also discussed some high-level filters to narrow down the Universe of Opportunities— specifically, biasing toward what we can most influence and the Pareto (80/20) Principle.

A. Defining the Journey: Management by Objectives, Metric Tracking and Visual Management

Here we look at examples of Operating Systems that many organizations use to help identify high-return problems.

B. The Value of Cascaded Target-Setting at Different Points in Time.

Cascading target-setting though Management by Objectives and using Visual Management and Metric Tracking can help prioritize two different categories of problems. First are strategic problems that may be addressed through annual or longer term strategic planning. The second are more operational in nature that need to be tracked and acted upon week-to-week or even day-to-day.

C. Additional Insights and Tools for the Filtering Toolkit

Some categories of problems should “fly to the top” of a leader’s priority list regardless of filtering tool. These may differ from organization to organization, depending on values and ecospheric conditions. However, two common examples are (i) problems that compromise the health or important relationships; and (ii) problems concerning Legal/Compliance issues.

Another helpful supplement to a leader’s Filtering Toolkit is to adopt a “root cause” mindset and ensure that you are framing your problems in such a way to ensure you are dedicating your time and resources toward addressing the root cause and not simply recurring symptoms.

Finally, being able to recognize the difference between “Urgent” and “Important” can be very helpful in prioritizing problems and resource allocation.

III. The Power of Focus and How to Say “No”

High-achieving individuals naturally want to take on a lot— both individually and on behalf of their organizations. Inevitably, though, the more one takes on in any limited time period, the less one actually winds up accomplishing. This is a hard lesson for leaders, and often runs counter to their high-achieving nature. However, the best leaders I’ve observed understand that the key to success is identifying and focusing on “the critical few.” In this section, we learn some practical tips to help organize your time and how to day “no”.