The Ivy Lee Method

Nearly four years ago I was starting yet another daily ritual that I was confident would accelerate my sales success.  At the very least, this new habit was going to keep me hyper focused on what was most important.

I would break down my annual goal into manageable quarterly targets.  From there I could solve for my monthly, weekly, and daily goals. I would actually write these things out. I also started adding all my meeting notes in the mobile version of our CRM versus my legal pad.

I’m not going to say it’s common knowledge I always had a yellow legal with me.

Over time I went from integrating my iPad at minimal frequency to nearly the majority of my meetings and my most important moments. After all, think about how many more reports I got to carry. Am I wrong? 

How I approached daily action items and what actually went on my lists evolved over time.  None of these evolutions are worth expanding on but I’ll share that the process became overwhelmingly complex.

it really took a turn when I started to include multiple territory reports, market data reports, performance reports, call reports, schedules, really specific workouts, gratitude lists and so on.  These are all valuable disciplines in their own right. However, what I mean to convey is that I was committed, but the daily process lacked simplicity.  I was successful but I always wanted more and better. Executing consistently was in itself a victory in self-discipline but it failed to win the Impactful Championship.

I went back to writing things down. After yet another year of plugging away and “boiling down” to a full page of items, reminders, call lists, workouts and gratitude lists, my career path serendipitously led me to Omaha, Nebraska.  Omaha is home to the Carson Group founded by long time financial services influencer and Barron’s Hall of Fame Advisor, Ron Carson.  This isn’t an article about Ron. Although, that would be cool. 

Instead, my aim is really to personalize the moment I shifted my daily routine toward something that is worth sharing with you. Something I developed by learning from Ron and of course his business partner Scott Ford. Something I’m not perfect with but continually trying to perfect. I could write novels about people I’m grateful for who have helped me in my career. Scott and Ron are not the least among them.

Ron and Scott co-authored a book titled The Sustainable Edge . It’s a book I promptly digested after learning I was to fly to Omaha for interviews and time with the Carson team.  What I took away was the cure to my latest 12-month degenerative illness of list making.  The book shares a number of gems but the one that stands out is the 6 Most Vital 1. Unfortunately, each of the fine gems buried in the book deserve more time than the average blog reader cares to spare. The more reason for you to check out their book.

Before explaining what shifted my pattern in such a meaningful way, it’s worth giving some historical context that involves the American steel magnate Charles M. Schwab. According to the author James Clear, by 1918, Charles M. Schwab was one of the richest men in the world. 

He also shares the following on his website:

Schwab was the president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest ship builder and the second-largest steel producer in America at the time. The famous inventor Thomas Edison once referred to Schwab as the “master hustler.” He was constantly seeking an edge over the competition.

One day in 1918, in his quest to increase the efficiency of his team and discover better ways to get things done, Schwab arranged a meeting with a highly-respected productivity consultant named Ivy Lee.

Lee was a successful businessman in his own right and is widely remembered as a pioneer in the field of public relations. As the story goes, Schwab brought Lee into his office and said, “Show me a way to get more things done.”

“Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives,” Lee replied.

“How much will it cost me,” Schwab asked.

“Nothing,” Lee said. “Unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it's worth to you.”

James did some quick calculations and shares that after three months, Schwab was so pleased with the results he wrote Lee a check for $25,000 — the equivalent of about $400,000 today

So, what was so impactful that it prompted Schwab to ultimately cut a very meaningful check?  It was a daily 15-minute routine promptly named The Ivy Lee Method and eventually modernized by countless businessmen. For example, Bill Gates’ “25-5 Rule” is also a derivation of Ivy Lee’s method.  The foundational Ivy Lee Method has shaped core beliefs of so many successful people and it dates back 101 years. It is without question a game changer for any high achiever today.

Here’s how it works:

The Ivy Lee Method encourages using 15 minutes a day to prioritize your 6 most important tasks

1. At the end of each day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow.
2. Prioritize those six items in order of importance.
3. One task at a time. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.
4. Move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.
5. Go back to 1.

A few tips:

1. Writing down your priorities the day prior forces you to dwell on the issues at hand overnight.  If you believe in the unconscious mind like I do, you’re now taking your biggest priorities and questions with you into the most cerebral portion of your evening – bedtime.
2. Number your items 1-6.  This list should never see a 7th item. Work on prioritizing and simplifying.  Most days you will have more than six items you feel are important.  Schedule them on a particular day (I wouldn’t suggest this if you’re attempting this method for the first time) or move them to the following day’s list
3. Life isn’t always neat.  Organize your list with your schedule for the day in mind if you must.  You may have a high priority that cannot be accomplished until a particular time of day.  Be mindful and stack up the items you can knock off the list in the meantime first.
4. Use pen and paper. If you want to learn the hard way, there are plenty of viable apps but I’ve been down that road and the digital application of this process is not nearly as effective. 

The Ivy Lee Method is an easy concept that isn’t so easy to execute.  However, if you can dedicate your energy to developing this habit, I’d be willing to bet you will see quantifiable growth.  Every long journey starts with the first step. Every annual goal can be broken down to daily targets.  Every work day should have 6 high priority drivers that will help you achieve that goal.  Simplify your routine, treat yourself to a nice pen and notebook and start today.

Feel free to reach me at [email protected] if you have any specific questions. Thank you for reading.