Ideas!

“What you really need are more CINers.

Everything that you do (or your company does) can be categorized as Critical, Important or Necessary.  Think of it as your “Hierarchy of Tasks”.  By definition, “Necessary” things need to be done by all firms in all industries, but they offer little or nothing in terms of differentiation or competitive advantage.  Accounts Payable, Custodial Services and Expense Management are good examples.  A full 60% of what you do falls into this category.

“Important” tasks represent 30% of your TODOs.  These are the functions that distinguish one industry from another.  For example, distributors manage inventory, staffing companies recruit talent, and insurance companies underwrite risk.

It’s the “Critical” tasks that really count.  This 10% of what you do differentiates you and your company from the rest of the herd in your industry.  They are the core of your success (or failure).

Sound simple-minded?  Humor me…  Take a half-hour and list the tasks you perform in any given month.  Then sort them top to bottom from most critical to least necessary.  Break it down into a “C” list, “I” list and “N” list.  Discipline yourself to spend 60% of your time on the critical 10% of your tasks.  What will be harder is limiting yourself to only 10% of your time for all those “N”s.

Send me an e-mail next month to let me know how much more effective you become.

Think about it…