Activity is not necessarily accomplishment.
A full calendar is worthless if it isn’t filled with the right tasks. Leaders are responsible for making tough decisions based on priorities.
What the Law of Priorities means
A long to-do list proves dedication, but it isn’t the most efficient way to get the necessary work done.
The Pareto principle: 80 percent of your time belongs to the most important 20 percent of your tasks. If there are ten items on your list, the two most important ones count the most.
What the Law of Priorities looks like in practice
Number 1 or 2, or out
Jack Welch kept only those General Electric businesses where GE ranked first or second in the market; the rest were sold or closed. From 1981 to 2001, GE’s market value rose from $12 billion to $410 billion.
The important is seldom urgent
“The important are seldom urgent, and the urgent are seldom important,” Dwight D. Eisenhower is said to have remarked, inspiring the later Eisenhower Matrix. Planning D-Day, he focused on strategy and delegated to generals like Patton and Bradley.
Six of eight hours for the axe
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening the axe,” Abraham Lincoln said. A dull axe makes the work slow and exhausting; preparation decides the outcome.
What the animation shows
Ten tasks, two that matter: 80 percent of the energy flows to the most important 20 percent.
