Introduction
When individuals or organizations are trying to make progress in any area, there is an obsessive tendency to focus on what “more” should be done. We tend to view progression as a form of adding and accumulating.
However, we’re forgetting that to be able to effectively add and accumulate, you must first have the time, resources, and mental space in order to do so, thus there is first a pre-requisite to eliminate as much as possible, before adding.
The common failure to proactively eliminate first is the basis behind David Packard (of Hewlett-Packard) saying,
More organizations die from indigestion than starvation.
For example, at First Principle Group we’ve developed the 1/51 framework, which we find ourselves repeatedly emphasizing on a daily basis with all of our clients.
At a simplistic level, the 1/51 framework states that the most important (1%) of actions or inputs, create the majority (51%+) of results in any area of life or business. The point of 1/51 is to emphasize the overwhelming importance of prioritization and focus, and that the vast majority of what we fill our time with is counter-productive, or non-productive at best.
The foundational principle Priority Is Priority means that in every situation the one most important action always delivers the majority of results in any area of life. Therefore the optimal approach is always to define the priority and eliminate everything else until your work on it is complete.
On a daily basis, this requires following a continual process of minimizing in every area of the business or your life, pursuing further simplification, and emphasizing focus at all times.
Essentially, the first step of progress is to first eliminate what NOT TO DO, so you can focus on what to do. By first eliminating the non-essential, you gain clarity and leverage by focusing on the value-added activities that produce the most results.
Do less, but do it world-class.
A few examples of applying the Priority Is Priority principle vs. doing anything and everything:
1 Businesses typically structure all their meetings around what’s new, what additional should be done, how the team can add more, etc. However, they should also have planned and structured meetings that are solely focused on elimination and simplification. (e.g. eliminating projects, customers, workstreams, unnecessary workflows and approvals, etc.).
2 Prioritize time for self-management and learning vs. reading/watching news to “stay updated” for no reason.
3 Prioritize business process improvement, especially task elimination and simplification, before discussing automation, or implementing a new enterprise system (e.g. ERP).
4 Eliminate processed and added-sugar foods first, before trying to start a new workout program, juicing, buying fancy new exercise equipment, etc.
5 Say no to additional social engagements, and spend that time improving your mental biases, thought processes, perspectives, and self talk instead, actually improving your ability to be “sociable” with both yourself and others.
6 Eliminate TV, news, and/or social media from your day, before trying to learn 5 new productivity “hacks” or buying new productivity apps, etc.
Additional articles, case studies, maturity models, and tools coming soon.