I came across this quote from Steve Jobs this morning:
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” — Steve Jobs
I’ve found answering the question “what do I say no to?” the hardest. Whether it’s because I loathe disappointing people, or simply letting fascinating ideas go, saying “no” is highly challenging for me.
What about you? Does “no” flow easily of of your tongue? How do you go about de-selecting work? Oru time is limited, so it’s our focus that’s golden. How do you protect that?
I can recommend the following system.
~
Drop
Delegate
Defer
Do
~
Done in strict order, it works very well.
When I first started using the system, I was surprised and delighted at how many ways there are to delegate beyond the line of direct reports. Creative application of delegation up, down, across, out and indeed all around also proved to be great fun.
Start each day in this way, I say.
Kind regards,
DD