Drawbacks in Priority Setting

Unfortunately, logic does not always prevail, as these familiar characters demonstrate.

1. The Fire Fighters. They rush from one urgent action to the next; important or high-growth concerns are never handled until they are urgent fires.

2. The Dreamer. They are concerned about the day after tomorrow that they do not meet current deadlines. They go out of business today planning for tomorrow.

3. Do the Easy Ones First. These people postpone the tough issues until there is more time or they are "in the mood". They avoid uncomfortable situations - even though they might be more important, be more immediate, or have higher growth potential. Unfortunately, difficult issues tend to keep growing until they are too big to handle.

4. The Squeaky Wheel. These people set priority based on personality or politics only, while ignoring additional facts about the current impact, future impact, and time frames of the situation. To their dismay, they soon discover that everyone has become a squeaky wheel.

5. The Top of the Heap. When faced with a full inbox, these people dive right in and start acting on the items at the top.

6. Phone-itis. Whenever the phone rings, answering that particular request automatically gets high priority. It doesn't matter what meetings are interrupted or thought focused on a difficult project get lost.

7. Wait Until it's Official. Some people just will not take action until a memo is delivered, a policy is written, or the boss has commanded. This is a costly way to set priorities. It ignores other valid information about important concerns until inexpensive action is no longer possible.

8. The Occupational Hobbyists. These people enjoy doing one kind of work. They have done it before and get a "kick" out of it. You know which concerns get their priority. Other aspects of the job are ignored regardless of their importance or urgency.