The One Hour Plan for Growth: How a Single Sheet of Paper Can Take Your Business to The Next Level

Chapter 9. Priorities

Who Will Do What by When? (10 minutes)

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

—Stephen R. Covey, Author

Don't be a time manager, be a priority manager.

—Denis Waitley, Author

Note

Priorities are the specific tasks to be accomplished by individuals. Priorities are important, but usually not urgent. Priorities may include goals to achieve, problems to solve, or capacities to develop.

The Power of Priorities

Kelly Schoen is the CEO of award-winning direct marketing company Z3 Graphix. Z3 has a clear and compelling mission statement: "Helping our customers find more customers." Their strategies focus on building a high-performing team, improving operational efficiency, and increasing revenues.

Denise is Z3's customer service manager. She is responsible for implementing priorities relating to achieving high levels of customer satisfaction. Denise has a high capacity for detail and complexity. She's organized, and naturally thinks in terms of higher levels of efficiency.

Kelly and Denise worked together with the executive team to get on the same page and achieve their priorities. The result? "In our first three months, we accomplished more than we had in the previous two years combined," Kelly said. "Every month, our leadership team would meet to celebrate progress and set new priorities. The cycle of setting, achieving, and celebrating priorities on a monthly basis made all the difference." Denise recently reported achieving ...