I’ve seen this pattern in nonprofits of every size: A new opportunity appears and it gets added to the list. Then another. Gradually, the organization is carrying more initiatives than it has the capacity to execute on. Everyone is working hard, but no one feels like they’re making progress.
The problem is rarely a shortage of good ideas. It’s more likely a shortage of discipline about which ideas to pursue.
I’ve always urged leaders to identify three priorities and to return to those every day. Not a list of ten or fifteen things that are broadly important, but just three specific tasks where focused effort will produce real results in the immediate future. That kind of priority management is more powerful than any time management system, because it forces an honest reckoning with what truly matters and what can wait.
Also challenging is retiring initiatives that are no longer serving the mission. Organizations accumulate programs and hold onto them, because letting go can feel like failure. But continuing to devote resources to work that has run its course just dilutes your capacity to do anything well.
Decide what matters most. Communicate it clearly. And then protect your organization’s focus as carefully as you protect its budget.
- Do you have too many priorities in front of you today?
- How can you reduce those to the three most important?
Here is a 5-minute video on prioritizing and focusing from our Applied Wisdom course.