Manufacture Focus: 5 Simple Steps When You Have More Work Than Time

Read Time: 4 minutes.

80% of leaders who come to me, either via our MGMT Accelerator or for 1:1 coaching, want help with one thing:

Delegating

And this is often the solution for some of their work.

But they rarely have enough capable people to take on the full list because the list constantly grows:

• A new marketing channel

• A new round of funding

• A new product line

• A new customer

• A new crisis

They live at the confluence of two rivers:

• The Urgent

• The Opportune

The source of these rivers is endless. Even the leaders who mastered delegation, automation, and elimination can drown in their waters.

They need one more move, and it requires courage:

They must choose.

Not only in a strategic, 10-year plan sort of way.
But in a micro, intra-day, "what will I do today" sort of way.

Here's how:

What Season Are You In

Embrace reality:

• Winter: Are you in survival mode and cutting costs?

• Spring: Are you in startup mode and finding product market fit?

• Summer: Are you in scaleup mode and growing fast?

• Fall: Are you in profit-taking mode and harvesting to diversify?

You will be tempted not to choose.
You will wish you were in a different season than you are.
You will want to "get ahead" of the season you see coming next.

Don't.

Work works when it's in harmony with reality. Embrace it.

How Is Success Measured This Time of Year

Force yourself to get to one number to hold as your north star.

If you're in survival mode, that might be profit margin.
If you're in scaleup mode, that might be new customers.

It's the number you believe gives you the best chance to win the season.

Note: It's okay to have KPIs that support it. Or if you're an OKR shop, that they connect. But the clarity comes from choosing, so choose.

What Work Moves The Needle That Season

Get all the work for that season onto a list. Seriously, get it out of your brain and onto a piece of paper. It will feel less overwhelming there. And the process will likely generate even more ideas.

That's the point: empty the bucket.

Now take the list and give every two scores:

• Impact: How much will it move the needle?

• Effort: How much will it cost to do it?

You can go High/Medium/Low on both.
Personally, I prefer numeric estimates, at least for the needle-mover.

Finally, you need to rank your list.

If you have High Impact / Low Effort options, do those first.

Note: If it's not meaningfully moving the needle on your key measure, cross it off. It might be a good idea, but it's not a good time.

Today's Big 3: Schedule It

This will seem trivial, but I promise it matters:

Start your day by TAKING OUR YOUR LIST.

Seriously, I fall victim to this all the time. And I see other execs do the same.

50% of the value comes from making the list.
50% of the value comes from using it. Refining it. Abiding by it.

Now, starting from the top, schedule 3 of your open blocks to take on the 3 most impactful items on the list.

Be clear about what you'll get done in that block today. This small step will force you to recognize dependencies, people you need, etc.

It will also be critical to uncover where you're sabotaging yourself in the next step.

Note: If you don't have 3 open blocks, you have a different problem. I have some ideas for how to cancel 50% of your meetings.

Did You Do Them (If Not, Why?)

Before you snap the laptop shut for the day, spend 2 minutes reflecting on the Big 3 with these questions:

• Did you complete what you set out to accomplish today?

• If no, why not?

You will likely notice one of three problems:

1. You got distracted. This is where the urgent usually crowds out the important. But did it really need your attention at that exact moment? Could someone else have dealt with it 80% as well as you? Stop letting your ego of today prevent the success you're trying to build tomorrow.

2. You were inefficient. It's a distraction of a different variety. Did you really lock in for that time? Or did you check your phone and email? Did a couple of people "just need you for one second?" Did 60 scheduled minutes become 15 minutes of focus after you factor in the distraction? Hint: rig your environment to meet your best intentions.

3. You took on too much. You failed to visualize what was doable in the hour. Or who you needed to bring together to do it. Great. Now you know you need to invest a little more in preparing to maximize your work blocks.

I find that when leaders follow this roadmap, a few things happen:

1. The work gets done much faster than they'd guess

2. They exit the season much sooner than they predicted

3. Their teams get more productive due to the renewed focus

What You Missed This Week

Did you miss this week’s MGMT Minute?

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Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!

Dave & Mar