KEEPING PRIORITY LISTS FLEXIBLE

The first thing you learn about setting priorities is that the order may not last long. All it takes is a call from your manager, an emergency situation, an unexpected human relations problem, or a mechanical breakdown to force you to make up a new list. A priority list is not a static thing and may need revision many times a day. In fact, many supervisors automatically reevaluate their priorities every time they move from one completed task to another. Then, you may ask, why make a list in the first place? The primary reason is to keep all responsibilities, tasks, and problems in view. A priority list should include all tasks that need to be done to reach your goals as soon as possible. Obviously, a cardinal mistake would be to leave something off the list that should be on it. But even if your list is complete, you can still make mistakes by putting one task or problem ahead of another. For example, if you spend your time on what should be a lower-priority matter, you are neglecting something more crucial, resulting in more harm than benefit. To illustrate the importance of this concept, look at the following examples:

Sid was a department manager for a major retail chain. Last week it was announced that his store would have its annual inspection by a team of top officials. Sid wanted a good report so badly that he gave top priority to cleaning up and rearranging the department, and everything else was neglected. Predictably, Sid and the department received a 100 percent rating. But what happened to the other priorities? For one thing, Sid neglected to turn in a non-computerized merchandise reorder list on time and the department was out of stock for two weeks. Sid—and his company—paid a high price for a poor priority decision.

Gayle was so fed up with the poorly organized files in her department that she finally decided to reorganize them herself, making it her top priority. Once she got into the task, she discovered that things were worse and took much longer than she anticipated. As a result, she neglected other important matters, including annual reviews of the six people in her department. Her superior was upset about it. Later, as Gayle thought it over, she realized that if she had taken care of the reviews first, she could have used them to motivate her employees to clean up the files themselves. She permitted her frustration to overemphasize one problem at the expense of another that should have been first priority.

Duke was chief of a repair crew that had been working long hours due to heavy storm conditions. No sooner did they make one repair than they were sent to do another. Each day Duke was supposed to turn in written reports on finished projects, but last Tuesday he wasn't organized, failed to set any priorities, and forgot to turn in the report. As a result, another repair crew was sent 100 miles away to do a job that Duke's crew had already completed. It was an embarrassing situation.