Prioritize for increased growth

By Marsha Lindquist

EI'AVE you ever felt like you have lltoo much to do and not enough time to do it? Or maybe you've heard your employees complain about being overworked? Perhaps your company is struggling just to maintain its standing, let alone grow? If these situations sound familiar, then your organization may not be focused on its highest priorities.

What are a company's highest priorities? They are the things that really make a difference for your company-the things that make the biggest impact on your bottom line and the results you want to achieve, whether those are results are keeping quality people or increasing sales growth. When organizations don't focus on their highest priorities, they often experience higher operating costs and higher levels of employee dissatisfaction.

For example, if the employees spend their time and energy on things that don't matter to the company's overall success, then soon they all feel overworked and ask for more staff and time off. This runs up the cost of doing business. Plus, people flock to places where they perceive they can make the greatest difference and contribute the highest value. When managers "make" work and ask people to do things that don't impact the organization, then people stop caring about their jobs. So when employees don't see the point in their responsibilities or no longer feel challenged, then they start looking for a job where they can make a difference.

But when your organization focuses on the highest priorities, then the employees won't feel overworked. They'll feel confident about putting the other, non-priority things aside, and they'll always contribute value. You can use the following tips for focusing your organization and employees on the highest priorities.

1. Guth"t input from all levels

Your company's priorities will be in accordance with the c.e.o.'s personal and professional visions for the organization. And while the upper level managers set the goals, you need to keep information coming from

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