When I speak with senior-level business leaders and listen to their biggest challenges, one of the most
common sources of frustration they share is that their organizations have lost the art of prioritization.
“It’s not that people aren’t trying, but when I look at the things people in my company are working on, it seems like deciding where to order pizza from on Pizza Friday is more important than the consistent complaints of a key customer account about the communications about their delivery dates…I don’t understand where their priorities are” was the quote from one leader I spoke to recently about a business leadership simulation project.
In a hybrid business environment where many times you are working with people who are remote, they are motivated by getting things done, but not necessarily done right because they don’t have the context and there is not always a good conversation about prioritization.
Prioritizing effectively in a business environment is crucial for productivity and achieving strategic goals. But it’s not happening.
Based on some research and real-life conversations with business leaders, here are five best practices of prioritization:
Align with Business Strategy, Value Proposition, and Strategic Goals:
Prioritization must start here. Everything that happens in an organization must be aligned to, and in support of, the strategy and value proposition offered to customers. Everyone can look at every task and ask, “How does this task help deliver our value proposition to our customers?”
This alignment helps ensure that efforts contribute to long-term goals and the organization's mission.
Evaluate Impact and Effort:
Assess tasks based on their potential impact and the effort required. High-impact, low-effort tasks should be prioritized over low-impact, high-effort ones. This ensures that resources are allocated efficiently to yield the maximum benefit.
Communicate and Collaborate:
Maintain open communication with stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations. Regularly update team members on priority changes and encourage collaboration to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards common goals. When things change, treat them as change and have a change strategy to support communication and collaborations.
Consistent Review and Adaptation Processes:
Create and implement a process to continuously review and adjust priorities based on changing circumstances, market conditions, and feedback. Regularly scheduled reviews (daily sprints, weekly or monthly check-ins, weekly status reports, etc.) help keep priorities relevant and responsive to new challenges and opportunities.
Use a Prioritization Framework:
The last tip is probably the most important. There are several excellent tools and frameworks that can be used to better prioritize. Here are a few of the most popular ones and I urge you to explore and find one that best works for you:
Eisenhower Matrix (Urgent-Important Matrix)
Divides tasks into four quadrants based on urgency and importance:
- Urgent and Important
- Not Urgent but Important
- Urgent but Not Important
- Not Urgent and Not Important
MoSCoW Method
Categorizes tasks into four groups:
- Must have
- Should have
- Could have
- Won't have.
RICE Scoring Model
Evaluates tasks based on four factors: Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort. The RICE score helps prioritize projects with the highest potential return.
Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
Focuses on identifying the 20% of tasks that will achieve 80% of the results.
KANBAN
A visual workflow management tool that uses boards to track progress and prioritize tasks. Often used in Agile and Lean methodologies.
Scrum Backlog Prioritization
Uses techniques like user story mapping, story points, and sprint planning to prioritize tasks in Agile development.
Weighted Scoring Model
Assigns weights to different criteria (e.g., cost, impact, feasibility) and scores tasks based on these criteria.
Impact/Effort Matrix
Categorizes tasks based on their impact and the effort required to complete them. Focuses on high-impact, low-effort tasks
In summary, it’s time to start prioritizing prioritization again. All of these tops and frameworks help systematically assess and categorize tasks based on their significance and urgency. When done with focus, they can make a difference and reduce leadership frustration.
