Running a business requires three basic skills:
- The ability to PLAN
- The ability to PRIORITIZE
- The ability to EXECUTE the prioritized plan
Some of us are master planners; able to spend countless hours analyzing alternatives and researching options. Others can look at a To Do List and, within seconds, reorder the items by level of importance. Still others can take direction and get the job done (execute) without a second thought.
The problem lies in the fact that most of us are not wired to excel in all three of these areas.
In order to overcome deficiencies, the first step is to recognize where you excel and where you are less proficient. The next step is to surround yourself with others whose strengths are your weaknesses.
If planning is not your thing, hire a coach or grab someone whose opinion and expertise you admire and hold regular planning sessions with their assistance and heavy involvement.
If prioritizing is a weakness of yours, try renaming your To Do List a “What Matters Most List?” See if you can trick yourself into becoming better at prioritizing. If that doesn’t work keep your coach and/or resident expert around for a few extra minutes after your planning sessions to help you determine what you should tackle first.
If execution is the problem, you either need to find a new line of work or hire executioners. In the context of this post, executioners are simply employees or contractors hired to execute your plan.