Defining priorities is one of the most agonizing challenges companies will face

Setting clear priorities is essential for any business that wants to achieve its revenue goals and come out a leader. Several companies are reporting that they may not hit their quarterly or yearly revenue targets, so prioritization is even more critical. When you have a clear understanding of what's most important for your business, you can focus your time, energy, and resources on the tasks and projects that will have the biggest impact. Here is why setting clear business priorities are important and how to do it effectively.

Why set clear business priorities?

This may seem obvious yet so many companies don’t do it. There are several reasons why setting clear business priorities is important for your business:

1.????Improved focus and productivity. When you have clear priorities, you can focus your time and energy on the things that are most important for your business. This can help you get more done in less time and avoid wasting time on less important tasks.

2.????Better decision-making. When you know what your priorities are, it's easier to make decisions about how to allocate your resources and where to focus your efforts. This can help you avoid making decisions that are based on emotion or impulse, and instead focus on what's most important for your business.

3.????Increased efficiency. By prioritizing tasks and projects, you can avoid wasting time and resources on work that isn't important for your business. This can help you operate more efficiently and get more value from your investments.

4.????Improved team alignment. When everyone on your team knows what the priorities are, they can work together more effectively to achieve your business goals. This can help reduce confusion and frustration and increase collaboration and communication within your team.

5.????Higher levels of customer satisfaction. By focusing on the things that are most important to your customers, you can provide a better experience and build stronger relationships with them. This can help you retain existing customers and attract new ones, which is essential for the success of your business.

6.????Greater success and profitability. By focusing on the most important tasks and projects, you can increase your chances of achieving your business goals, which can lead to greater success and profitability. This can help you stay competitive in your industry and succeed in today's fast-paced business environment.

How to Set Clear Business Priorities

Now that the importance of setting clear business priorities has been reviewed, let's discuss how to do it effectively. Here are some steps you can follow to set clear business priorities for your business:

1.????Understand your business goals. The first step in setting clear business priorities is to understand the mission and goals of your business. This will help you determine which tasks and projects are most important to focus on. Business goals can evolve over time, so it’s important to revisit them on a regular basis and evaluate if the priorities the company is focused on are helping you reach the overall business goals.

2.????Identify the key drivers of success. What is going to move the needle? When setting priorities these are the factors that will have the biggest impact on your ability to achieve your goals, such as revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement. These should be the main factors that you consider when prioritizing tasks and projects.

3.????Take a top-down approach. When setting priorities, it's important to take a top-down approach. This means starting with your overall business goals and then working down to specific tasks and projects that will help you achieve those goals. This can help you avoid getting bogged down in the details and ensure that you are focusing on the things that are most important for your business.

4.????Be realistic about what you can accomplish. It's important to be realistic about what you can accomplish in a given time frame. If you try to take on too much at once, you may end up overwhelming yourself and your team, which can lead to burnout and high turnover. It’s hard to narrow down the focus of priorities because something always gets left out.

Creating clear priorities allows you to focus your time and energy on the things that are most important to your business. This can help you avoid getting sidetracked by less important tasks and projects and ensure that you are making the best use of your time and resources.

Since people learn in different ways, using a matrix can also help force you to rank priorities and clearly show what is going to get the biggest results without getting sidetracked. There are several versions of this floating around the internet but to refresh your memory, here’s one that I use when setting business priorities:

?

By using the priority matrix, you can prioritize tasks and projects based on their level of importance and urgency and focus your efforts on the things that will have the biggest impact on your business.

Pitfalls of Setting Business Priorities

The matrix can help avoid some stumbling blocks in setting priorities. Some common other pitfalls to avoid when setting business priorities are:

1.????Failing to consider the long-term impact of your priorities. It's important to not only consider the immediate impact of your priorities but also their long-term effects on your business. For example, prioritizing short-term revenue over long-term customer satisfaction may not be a good idea in the long run.

2.????Not involving your team in the process. Setting priorities is not something that should be done in isolation. Involving your team in the process can provide valuable insights and perspectives and help ensure that everyone is on board with your priorities.

3.????Failing to review and adjust your priorities regularly. The needs of your business can change over time, so it's important to periodically reassess your priorities and adjust them as needed. This will help ensure that your priorities remain relevant and effective.

4.????Focusing too much on urgent tasks at the expense of important ones. It's important to not only prioritize urgent tasks but also to focus on the things that are most important to your business. Otherwise, you may end up getting bogged down in tasks that don't contribute to your overall goals.

5.????Failing to prioritize self-care and personal well-being. It's important to not only prioritize tasks and projects related to your business but also to prioritize your own self-care and well-being. This will help you maintain a healthy work-life balance and avoid burnout.

It is very easy to quickly review priorities and then set them and forget them, especially if the company has been around for a while. However, taking the time to dive in and really evaluate from every angle if these priorities are really going to make an impact will result in better results.

This is true for early-stage companies all the way to Fortune 100 companies. No matter what size the company, time and resources are always a factor in reaching your business milestones. Throw in an uncertain economy and a post-pandemic world and you can see how urgent distractions can quickly take all the energy and focus away from your true business priorities.

Key Takeaways

For those that read through the entire article, thank you. For those who just skimmed (we all do it) here are the key takeaways from this article:

·?????Set clear priorities that are going to move the needle

·?????Leverage the matrix to force hard decisions on what priorities to focus on

·?????Don’t get distracted by shiny objects that take time away from your priorities

Don’t be afraid to put the stake in the ground and focus on a few key priorities. If circumstances change, you can always revisit the priorities and evaluate if adjustments need to be made. Tough decisions need to be made to keep the company focused and performing well. It’s hard when not all priorities make the cut, but it is necessary. Teams may be disappointed that a particular priority didn’t make the list but by mapping it back to the overall business goals it becomes easier to understand.

As this year winds downs, planning and prioritization are on every executive’s mind. Hopefully, this will help you and your team make the tough decisions and pave the path to great success in 2023.

______________________________________

Rhonda Giedt is a marketing executive focused on solving challenges to spur revenue growth in companies. She has experience marketing companies in SaaS, manufacturing, and 3D printing. She is also an avid sports fan of college football, golf, premier league football, and many others.

She is also an Envoy Core Group Leader for Pavilion, start-up advisor, and mentor to marketing and business professionals.