The Importance of Importance

The alarm is ringing. A deadline is coming up. Or worse, has already passed. Gasp. We're out of time. We must act quickly and get things done, right? Not necessarily.

Urgency is often mistaken for importance. If what's due (or overdue) is unimportant, then who cares? Maybe it's part of an already scrapped plan. Maybe it should've never been committed to in the first place. Whatever the case, to effectively manage our days, we need to get clear on our priorities.

There are endless opportunities and problems; ideas and complaints. But there's only so much sand in our hourglass.

Urgency is a factor to consider, but it's unhelpful on its own. We need to pair importance. If something is important and urgent. Do it! Stop reading this and do it now!

But if it's urgent but not important, then why bother? Seriously, why would you do something that is not important?

For things that are important but not urgent, schedule them. Have a plan so you don't turn it into an emergency.

It's not always easy define and align on importance. Folks can have different views. Explain your reasoning and listen to those of others. Work in a transparent and open fashion so everyone knows what's important and what's not. This is the foundation of effective prioritization.

Comments

The Art of Giving Feedback

Constructive feedback is an awkward affair. You don't want hurt feelings, but recognize the importance of honesty. You've tried the classic "hoping things will get better on its own" and unfortunately it hasn't played out. When giving feedback, here are a few things that I try to keep it mind. Start with empathy. Step into their shoes and understand their story. If you don't know, ask. Be genuinely curious. Feedback is a dynamic affair. Shared communication with a shared goal towards progress. Take the emotion out of it. Focus on the situation, not the person. Focusing on the person adds unnecessary weight to an already emotionally-bloated event. Be specific. Give clear examples. Vague feedback equals dismissed feedback. Doing above won't de-awkward things fully, but it will dampen it and increase the chance of better outcomes.

Bias For Clarity

Bias for action. Gets things done. Go-getter. Traits companies big and small look for. And for good reason, you're being hired to do things! However, action is a secondary step that often overshadows the primary step, direction. Clear direction is the foundation that enables our actions to takeoff. Without it, we're stuck in the mud. Striving for clarity is an underrated skill. Having the courage to ask ( seemingly ) obvious questions, and to check in, making sure we're all on the same page. "O bvious " questions are a low risk, high reward way to add value. At worst, you'll add confidence to our actions. At best, you discover a misalignment that saves us from a dead-end. The more people, the more clear we need to be. The bigger the initiative, the bigger the risk of reaching the finish line, only to realize expectations were off. Success is always uncertain. But we can be certain about what we want and what everyone's job is. Things that can be clea

Negative Feedback, Positive Lessons

In the battle against plastic bags, a five-cent tax was shown to be much more successful at deterring usage than a five-cent credit for bringing your own bags. Carrots satisfy but sticks sting, and they sting hard. So we default to the less painful choice of avoiding loss. Loss aversion impacts the way we process information. A 2019 study invited participants to learn through a series of multiple choice questions. Each question only had two options to choose from. Whether guessing correctly or not, they would still learn the right answer. Despite the identical learning opportunity, participants were much more successful at recalling the answers they guessed correctly than those they got wrong. "You're right!" feels good. We savour the moment, analyzing every detail. "You're wrong!" stings. We want to quickly forget, dismiss, and move on. When we succumb to loss aversion, we miss opportunities to learn. Failure is part of the process. We'll experie

Herman Ye

Search