The things that matter the most should never be at the mercy of the things that matter the least. Goethe.
Does it happen to you that instead of performing your duties you perform the job of firefighter, always "putting out fires"? Acting on pressing circumstances is one of the main reasons that prevents managers and administrators from carrying out their tasks effectively. Let us reflect on how to break this vicious circle that many companies suffer.
Between the urgent and the important
In any organization there are four types of activities: 1. Urgent and important. 2. Not urgent but important. 3. Urgent without importance and 4. Neither urgent nor important. We can find urgent and important activities, such as delivering the order made by our main client today. In another sense, there are tasks that, although important, are not urgent, such as training personnel, planning the company's development strategy for the next 10 years, or maintaining the photocopier. In the tasks that are not important we find some that are urgent and others that are not. In the first there are inconsequential activities but with a close deadline, such as attending the social event that is today but we are not interested; fill out the survey that the telephone company sent us to return by mail no later than tomorrow, etc.In the latter are leisure and irresponsibility, since these are activities that neither matter nor are urgent, such as "chatting", playing solitaire, watching too much television, etc. Responsible people usually focus on attending to things that are urgent, as they are obviously the ones that put the most pressure.
Emergencies do not arise overnight
Most organizational emergencies are not unforeseen or sudden situations. These are tasks that we postponed because they were not urgent, so we put them aside to attend to them until they became urgent. The problem is that when we attend to something urgently, harmful consequences are generated such as stress, overtime, higher expenses, tension in relationships, etc.
It is sadly common that something that was important, but not urgent, is not addressed until it enters the realm of the urgent. We know that it is very important to establish an effective inventory management system, but we do not do it until we lose a customer for not delivering on time, or until we suffer from lack of financial liquidity due to the large existence we have in the warehouse. So we do think about purchasing a system immediately, whatever the cost. The same is true for photocopier maintenance.
We know that it is important to do it, but since it still works we forget it until "suddenly" it begins to fail. So, since it is urgent to have copies, we attend to the situation, which will not only cost maintenance, but a repair and pay for photocopies at the stationery price in which our machine is fixed.
So what was important but not urgent becomes important and urgent, leading us to pay higher prices than we should have covered if we had acted in a timely manner.
What is first, urgent or important?
Because we have limited resources, we need to recognize that it is impossible to do everything. The solution then lies in choosing what to do and prioritizing. For this there is a simple logic: do what is important first, because it is important. Of urgent things we should only act on those that, in addition to urgency, have importance. Later, it is convenient to attend to the important ones that are not urgent.
You may wonder what happens to tasks that are urgent but not important. The answer is simple: don't do it. If they really are not important, then why make them? They only steal time that we must dedicate to what is important.
I don't know how to say no
Dare to say no to all those activities and commitments that are not important to you. Just don't do it, it only robs you of the time you must spend on what is valuable to you or your business. If you are one of those who think you do not know how to say no, let me tell you that you are wrong, because you say "no" more times than you think. Every time you say "yes" to an activity that is not important, you are saying "no" to another that really was, because by doing the first, you stopped doing the second. Reverse the roles, spend time on what is really valuable and refuse to invest in those tasks that are not relevant.
Invest in what's important
Schedule to act on important activities even if they don't urge. If it is attended to in a timely manner, they will not become another “fire to extinguish”. If you always maintain your copier, it is much more likely that it will not fail. Remember that in important and non-urgent situations are training, planning, equipment maintenance, research, investing in customer treatment, and all those actions that benefit the growth and effectiveness of your organization.
We will always have emergencies
Do not wait for pressing situations to disappear completely, it is impossible. What is possible is to reduce them considerably. When we attend to what is important, the urgencies caused by lack of planning, organization and priorities decrease; However, there will always be latent the emergence of real contingencies such as accidents and drastic or sudden situations that affect the market (official regulations, a war, natural catastrophes, devaluation of the peso, etc.).
Convey what matters
Do not leave to the imagination of your people what is important to the company. Write the values, objectives and mission of your company. From there follows what is truly important. Constantly share and repeat this information with your staff. Act according to these important parameters and publicly congratulate those who do the same. Carry out these ideas, but please, do it now, because if you don't, you still run the risk of paying attention to them until they become another fire to put out.
