By: Andy Fry, Coach, Renogize Professional Coaching
I recently watched a classic Tom and Jerry cartoon with my two boys on a random Saturday morning. The laughter and joy they got from the simplistic humor was infectious and I probably had more fun watching them than I did watching the show. In one of the action sequences, Jerry (the mouse) is attempting to run away from Tom (the cat). You see Jerry running with his arms and legs churning at a rapid pace, clearly fast enough and long enough to evade Tom, but then the scene expands to show that Tom is holding onto Jerry’s tail. He was running incredibly fast but not getting anywhere.
After one of my recent coaching sessions, I was reflecting on what my client was experiencing and the image of Jerry running came back into my mind. My client articulated a sense of a hurried pace, a frantic schedule, bombarding priorities, and a lack of accomplishment. Through identifying the “big rocks” that truly needed to be addressed, he was able to home in on what was most important at that time and provided himself with a heading. It is important to note though that his effort has always been good. His lack of prioritization was just the cat holding his tail.
What are your big rocks? Here are a few questions that could help identify them:
Will addressing _________ result in motion (the appearance of accomplishment) or actual momentum?
When looking at your list of priorities, is there one that will result in other priorities either being accomplished or not necessary?
Which of your priorities directly affect your personal or organizational objectives?
What will make the biggest impact?
Strategic leaders choose fewer, better priorities—and lead others to do the same. Dedicate your time and your effort to the things that matter most and don’t let anything hold you back.
