Planning and Prioritization Tips From a CEO

Key Concepts

• Strategic Plan: A foundational document guiding company-wide focus and priorities.
• Prioritization: The process of identifying and focusing on the most important tasks and goals.
• Delegation: Assigning tasks and responsibilities to others to achieve broader objectives.
• Tactical Implementation: Translating high-level strategic goals into concrete, actionable daily, weekly, or monthly tasks.
• Goal Setting: Establishing specific, measurable objectives for individuals, departments, and the organization.
• Leadership: The ability to guide and motivate individuals or teams towards achieving common goals, often involving strategic thinking and delegation.
• Longevity (Career): Sustained success and satisfaction in one's professional life, partly achieved by balancing necessary tasks with enjoyable ones.

The Importance of Daily Work Decisions for Professional Success

The discussion centers on the critical question of "How do you decide what to work on every day?" and its direct correlation to professional and leadership success. The guest, Brian Coultharp, a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and the President and CEO of Freeze and Nickels, a large civil engineering company, shares his approach to managing a demanding schedule with "a million things on [his] plate."

Strategic Planning as a Foundation for Prioritization

Brian emphasizes that his daily decisions are heavily influenced by the company's strategic plan. He explains that while there are "so many things going on out there in the world today" and the company "could be doing a lot of different things," the strategic plan "really puts focus on the things that we feel like are most important for us to focus on at the company level." This framework guides his personal schedule, ensuring he prioritizes and schedules based on these overarching company objectives.

Personal Goals, Job Descriptions, and the Human Element

Brian highlights that regardless of one's position, from CEO to a new hire, everyone has a job description, a list of tasks to accomplish, and associated goals and priorities. He notes a common human tendency: "we always end up spending the most time doing the things we like doing the best." While acknowledging this, he stresses the importance of ensuring all necessary tasks are completed. He also suggests that incorporating enjoyable tasks can contribute to "longevity" in one's career.

The Role of Delegation in Leadership

Delegation is identified as a "big part" of what all professionals, especially leaders, "have to do." The host reinforces this, noting that engineers often "don't like to do" it because they "like to get the calculators out sometimes" and perform tasks they enjoy. However, effective delegation is crucial for leaders to achieve larger goals.

Connecting Strategic Vision to Tactical Execution

A key takeaway is the necessity for leaders to bridge the gap between "bigger picture goals" and "day-to-day stuff." The host elaborates on Brian's point, stating that the ability "to figure out how to take a larger goal, a bigger vision for the company and then drilling it down into what we actually have to be doing today or this week or this month to make that happen is really really important." Failure to do so can lead to getting "off track" and not achieving strategic objectives, as illustrated by the hypothetical scenario: "It's already July... we haven't really made a lot of traction on those [10 strategic goals]."

CEO-Level Goal Setting and Prioritization: A Specific Example

Brian provides a concrete example from his role as CEO. He works with the company's Board of Directors annually to set his personal goals for the year. Crucially, in addition to these goals, they establish explicit "priorities for the year." These priorities are the "most important things" that the board and Brian agree he should focus on throughout the year, directly informing his daily and weekly planning. This structured approach ensures alignment with the highest organizational directives.

Actionable Insights for All Levels of Leadership

The discussion concludes by emphasizing that these principles apply to leaders at any level of an organization. Whether guided by company strategic goals, departmental objectives, or board-mandated priorities, having clear goals and priorities is essential to stay focused and ensure efforts contribute to meaningful outcomes. The ability to translate these high-level objectives into actionable daily tasks is a hallmark of effective leadership.

Synthesis and Conclusion

The core message is that effective daily work management and leadership hinge on a disciplined approach to prioritization rooted in strategic planning. Leaders, from CEOs to junior engineers, must actively connect overarching organizational goals to their daily tasks, employing delegation where appropriate. This involves not just setting goals but also explicitly defining and focusing on key priorities, ensuring that tactical efforts consistently drive strategic progress. Balancing necessary tasks with those that foster personal satisfaction can also contribute to long-term career success and longevity.