Poker and Priorities

Posted: November 14, 2013 | Categories: Management, Time management

Have you ever worked hard on what you thought was an important project only to find out that it wasn’t that important?  If you have, you know how demoralizing that can be.  Unfortunately this situation is quite common.  It is also costly in both team morale and efficiency.
Almost every weekend I have household chores assigned to my by my wife.  I usually keep a running list of about ten.  To avoid confusion, I always confirm with Joyce the order and priority.  Occasionally, Joyce will comment, “I noticed you haven’t done ____ yet”.  I look at my list and say, “That is #5, I am working on #3.  Would you like to re-negotiate the priorities?”  Sometimes she says yes and I make the change in the batting order.  Otherwise, she will say, “No, let’s keep it in that order.  I want those other items done first.”  By working together this way, we are always in alignment with our priorities.  we take the time to discuss and negotiate them ahead of time.  It saves hassle and frustration, and allows us to be more focused and time efficient.

If you want an example of what it means to agree on priorities, consider the game of poker.  If I have two pair aces over kings and you have two pair kings over queens, there is no dispute.  The ace is the highest card in the deck in poker and it always wins.

When I am working with a team and the focus is on agreeing and clarifying priorities, I will sometimes present them with a deck of cards and ask, “What is your ace?” (highest priority).  Once they answer, I then ask, “How does your team rate this?”  It is common for the staff to have it listed as a different priority.

If we are committed to being a strong, effective leader, we need to clearly establish our priorities, put them in order, and make sure our team has them in the same order.  This can go a long way to ensure the team is pulling together in the same direction.  And what happens if we fail to do this?  The outcome is almost always, “OK, just put it on my desk and I will handle it”.

KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES…KNOW THEIR ORDER…COMMUNICATE THEM