Deliver results for your business; step four

Deliver results for your business. Step four – focus on key tasks.

Results are what counts. Nothing else matters as much as the results.

From working with hundreds of SME clients over the last 10 years, and from 15 years of personal experience in multinationals prior to that, I’ve distilled out my six top tips to ensure you have the know-how to do just that.

This week, step four;

Focus on the key tasks

This can be easier said than done and achieving it requires immense discipline (see my previous posts on How to Stop Firefighting).

It starts with having a realistic sense of what can be achieved in the time available. I’m sure we’ve all come across bosses who’ll keep piling straws onto the proverbial camel’s back… Are you doing this to yourself and your own company?

One easy way that I’ve seen to get focus that works for businesses of all sizes is to simply block out time in the diary. This could be anything from 15 minutes to a whole day.

Another trick – if you’re feeling overwhelmed with all there is to do – is to list all of these tasks, next identify the ones requiring immediate attention, and then select one of those to work on for the next ½ hour. Which leads to the next point…

Next week – Take action!

P.S. Think you’re already doing this and not getting the results you want? I’m always interested to have my insights challenged! Drop me an email hilary.briggs@r2p.co.uk and let’s figure it out.


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Hilary Briggs

A management consultant with over 15 years of industrial experience having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc. For the last 10 years, she’s worked with SME’s to improve their performance. Hilary is Managing Director of productivity specialists R2P Ltd.
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A management consultant with over 15 years of industrial experience having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc. For the last 10 years, she’s worked with SME’s to improve their performance. Hilary is Managing Director of productivity specialists R2P Ltd.