Setting priorities

Targeted and always one after another

You know the problem that the tasks grow over your head and you have the feeling that you are doing lots of things, but there is no land in sight. In order not to sink in the sea of many challenges, there is only one option: you have to set priorities. In doing so, you need to keep your goals in mind and incorporate them into a time management system. But self-discipline is also indispensable.

Do not let emotions rule

There are tasks that no one likes to do and therefore puts them on the back burner. This leads to such tasks ending up at the bottom of the priority list. Prioritization influenced by emotions in this way does not lead to success in the most effective way – in many cases it even leads to a dead end. That's why you should check at every step whether you were guided by facts or by emotions. Because ultimately, the time factor – which cannot usually be influenced – and your own free evaluation determine the prioritization. In addition, there are tasks that are completed as part of the daily routine without questioning their importance. When you tackle the topic of "working more effectively", you should first evaluate all recurring, unexamined tasks according to their importance.

The key factors

The prioritization of tasks is based on two key factors: time and money. This is relatively easy if the tasks can be freely planned and can be dispensed with without jeopardizing business operations (possibly for the time being).

It is difficult when a goal is set that is indispensable for the company. In this case, it must be clarified in advance whether

By Hartmut Fischer

the financial resources are available or whether the company can handle corresponding external financing. If this is not the case, savings potential must be sought elsewhere. Even if the task is of existential importance to your business, you should not put yourself under time pressure. Processes that are completed in a hurry almost always do not lead to the goal, but to unnecessary costs.

Agreeing on binding priorities

To get a project done by a group, you need to set binding priorities in a schedule. It is crucial for success that everyone adheres to this specification. You should therefore create a priority instruction that shows when certain work will start, be completed and who is responsible for it. Particularly in the case of longer processes, it is important that you regularly monitor compliance with the agreed deadlines.

Time and expertise

When you set priorities, it doesn't just mean setting a timeline. You also have to determine which employee has the necessary competence to solve the task delegated to him or her. If the employee is not able to complete the requirements placed on him or her in the desired time, it is not only your priority plan that will fail. It can quickly happen that the employee – who is otherwise so important for the company – is demotivated by the perceived "failure" and thus slackens altogether.

During a process, the basis on which the prioritization was made may change. For longer-term processes, you should therefore check at regular intervals whether the basis on which you set the priorities has changed and whether an adjustment of your prioritization is necessary.

Goal oriented

The priorities of a task are always based on the set goal. It is therefore important that you describe this goal in as much detail as possible. In most cases, the individual tasks that you need to prioritize already follow from this description.

At the top of the list are the tasks that play the biggest role in achieving the goals. If prerequisites are necessary for this that still have to be created, these naturally have priority. Often, one particularly important aspect is not sufficiently illuminated: feasibility. If it only becomes apparent during the ongoing process that the tasks are not feasible or represent too high a risk for operations, a lot of time and effort has been invested without the goal being achieved. This results in unnecessary costs that could have been avoided with a realistic implementation check.

Daily routine organized quickly

The first prioritization is the daily agenda. Here are the various tasks that need to be done independently, that are evaluated and timed. If possible, put all tasks to the test. Especially the daily recurring activities are often done "automatically" without evaluating them according to their importance or necessity.

For the evaluation of the daily routines one often uses the "ABC method". This involves determining what you will do yourself immediately (priority A), what can be done later or delegated (priority B) and what will definitely be delegated (priority C). Proceed according to the following scheme.

What you can delegate depends largely on the staff to whom you can delegate. The level of information of the individual employees plays at least as important a role as their skills. Therefore, consider whether it makes sense to hold regular meetings to exchange information. The better informed your employees are, the more you can delegate to your staff.

Prioritizing projects

Projects are also about the effective achievement of goals. However, an acquisition in itself does not represent a goal. The goal is, for example, to increase sales in a certain segment. In this context, an acquisition would be one way of achieving the goal. An alternative could also be, for example, the streamlining of processes (Lean Management).

Step 1: Goal description

Before you go to the actual prioritization, you should precisely define and determine the goal. Then check whether the financial and human resources are available to achieve the goal. If not, you need to weigh up whether the expected revenues justify additional investments or are justifiable for your business. Only if these prerequisites are given, you determine the details of the target scenario. To do this, note down all the work steps (without prioritizing).

Intermediate step: when several options present themselves

There are often cases where one wants to start projects with results that are "nice to have". That is why the first question in determining financial viability is whether there is an economic necessity. The long-term perspective must also be considered. Whether the boom for individual products or brands will continue in the next few years is an open question in the medium to long term. However, the fact that service will play an increasingly important role in the future – not least as a result of internet trading – is almost certain. Investments in staff training and development are likely to have a more positive impact on sales.

Step 2: Financial feasibility

Once you have decided on a project, you need to check whether it can be financed. In particular, when you need to borrow outside capital, the question arises as to whether the planned course of action is sensible and, above all, purposeful (see intermediate step). If alternatives are available, compare them. In doing so, you should also bear in mind that it may make sense to cut back on the defined target if this means that the liquidity of your business can be protected.

Step 3: Chronological order

After you have clarified necessity and funding, you put the individual steps in chronological order. You start with the goal and then proceed backwards. Since you cannot yet foresee how long it will take to work through the entire process, mark the goal with 0 and calculate backwards in days: goal = 0, measure 10 = 0-3, measure 9 = measure 10-2, measure 8= measure 9-1, etc. would be an example.

The various steps of a project are linked to each other. One task can only be completed when another has already been completed. To create a structure, you therefore need to break down the individual tasks as much as possible to create the flow. However, you do not have to go into the last detail if the task is delegated as a block. For example, if a room is to be expanded and an adjoining room has to be painted for this purpose, you specify by when a decision must be made as to which painter will do it and by when he must have completed the work.

To complete the timeline prioritization, ask yourself the following questions about each task:

▶ Is the task absolutely necessary to achieve the goal? If not, mark this task so that you can perhaps postpone it in favor of a more important task or do without it.

▶ Where does the task need to be placed in the timeline?

▶ If this section is occupied in the timeline, check whether the tasks can be processed in parallel in the time period. If this is not possible, the measure that contributes most to achieving the goal has priority.

In this way, you work through measure by measure until you have developed the optimum sequence. Since the sequence is often changed, you should preferably create the list in a spreadsheet program (e.g. Excel). ◆