Here’s a common story I encounter with my clients: They are successful. They do great work. Earlier in their career they felt like they were able to make significant contributions to projects, now they feel like the majority of their time is randomized. They hop from meeting, to call, to email, to chat, start one task only to be interrupted to focus on another. They end the day with 100s of tabs open, an email in drafts that they thought they had sent, and feeling like they haven’t accomplished anything. Sound familiar?
Impact of Randomization
The result of all this is that they start to feel over-committed, burned out, and less impactful. If they are leading teams, sometimes this randomization and the negative impacts carry over to the team as well.
The first reaction people have is to start doing less. Less meetings, saying ‘no’ to projects, and redefining their scope. This works to some extent, but if you are not careful your new found space will soon be filled again with more random energy takers. Your first step should be to identify where you want to be spending your time and energy.
Identify your Needle Movers
‘Needle moving’ work is impactful, meaningful, and fulfilling. This is the work that makes a noticeable difference—whether in productivity, performance, or results. Here’s how you can identify your ‘needle movers’.
1. Scale for growth: This is especially important if you are working in a high-growth company. Ask what will happen when the business grows 5x or 10x? What will break? What will no longer work? Identify projects or initiatives that will help the business scale proactively.
2. Work backwards from the customer: Understand your customers and how you can invest your energy in driving improvement in the customer experience. Jeff Bezos explains how Amazon focuses on what he coined the “Customer Experience Pillars”:
In our retail business, we have strong conviction that customers value low prices, vast selection, and fast, convenient delivery and that these needs will remain stable over time. It is difficult for us to imagine that ten years from now, customers will want higher prices, less selection, or slower delivery. Our belief in the
durability of these pillars is what gives us the confidence required to invest in strengthening them. We know that the energy we put in now will continue to pay dividends well into the future. —Jeff Bezos, 2008 Letter to Shareholders
3. Pareto Principle: Applying the 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, can be particularly useful. This principle states that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts, so identifying and focusing on that 20% will yield the greatest impact. For example, a project manager may notice that 80% of delays stem from 20% of bottlenecks in the workflow. Instead of fixing every minor issue, they concentrate on removing those key bottlenecks which leads to faster project completion and higher efficiency.
Focus on your Needle Movers and thrive.
In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected work environments, it’s easy to get lost in a cycle of distractions and random tasks that ultimately diminish our impact and productivity. By recognizing the need to focus on "needle-moving" tasks, leaders and employees alike can better align their energy with the activities that truly drive results. Identifying and prioritizing high-impact work is essential to regaining control over your day and achieving long-term success. By making a conscious effort to reduce randomness and focus on what truly matters, you can create a work environment that fosters growth, efficiency, and, ultimately, fulfillment.
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