You Need A Stop-Doing List Along With Your To-Do List
A Good Leader Conveys This Idea To Her Employees
(Listen to it here.)
Today’s blog post was prompted by an article written by Guy Kawasaki, called In Pursuit of Elegance. He talks about how many of the best products are simple and compelling. Too often businesses add all the bells and whistles they can think of. Their idea is that more is better. Look at Google, look at the iPhone, and look at a Sudoku puzzle. Clean, simple, and completely compelling . . . to most people. I’ll go for Google, and the iPhone, but I’ll appreciate and avoid a Sudoku puzzle. Now that I think about it, I’ll substitute Twitter (see NancyFClark) for Sudoku any time. Twitter fits the simple and compelling model as well, if you’re following the right people. Clean, simple, compelling—that’s elegance.
When Fortune named Apple “America’s Most Admired Company,” Steve Jobs explained that the company’s “stop-doing” strategy was paramount in their success. As a CEO, or as a department manager, you’re responsible for determining which items on the list should be focused on, and which items need to be removed. In other words, what items or tasks need to be placed on your Stop-Doing List? You want your people to focus on the most important tasks—so you have to identify the less important tasks.
You know that 80-20 Rule? The one that says that 80% of business comes from 20% of your customers. Or it can also be applied as 80% of your company’s problems come from 20% of your customers (or products). If you’re like me, you’re balking at the exact numbers. Well, they could vary according to what you’re measuring, but it’s funny that numbers close to these pop up in many, many cases. So, let’s assume we can say 80-20.
My Women in Business Tip of the Week is going to get you started on a newly focused agenda.
Women in Business Tip of the Week
Write up your To-Do List, including goals and objectives. Next, put these in priority order. Count the number of items. What’s 20% of this number? That’s the number of items you should be attempting to remove from the list and place on your new Stop-Doing List. Do you think you can do that? Nah, me neither, but I’m going to give it a try. I hope you do too.
Adhering to this process (it’s called the Pareto Principle—another good thing from Italy besides pasta) will allow your employees to focus more time and more mental manpower on the things that matter most. That’s what a “most admired manager” does.
Do this and then let Fortune know you’re one of those “most admired managers” in one of the “most admired businesses.”
Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Working Women.
Further Reading:
Website, WomensMedia, by Natalie R. Manor, Leadership & Confidence
Many Women Are Competent, but Lack Confidence
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, A Busy Working Woman Needs To Prioritize Her To-Do List —Take These 5 Steps For A To-Do List That Keeps Your Priorities In Mind or listen to it here.
Podcast (always about 5 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Organizing Your Desk For Time Management Results —Spending Time On Organization Is Time Well Spent! or read it here.
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Be A Woman Who Makes As Much As A Man —Money Facts You Should Know About The Gender Pay Gap or listen to it here.
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, For Success, Bring More Happiness To Work —Increasing Your Happiness Level Is Easier Than You Think! or listen to it here.
Website, WomensMedia, by Sam Horn, What to Say in Difficult Situations.
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