Do you have a million ideas you want to implement but not sure where to start? Well, join the club!
If you want to start taking meaningful action, here are some criteria you can use (any one will work, or a combination):
- Which idea is a `low hanging fruit’? (i.e. possible to implement immediately, with relative ease)
- Which action/s are urgent and must be taken now?
- Which action (borrowing from Stephen Covey’s ideas) is important but not urgent? Don’t neglect important-not-urgent items, because if you don’t take action on these type of matters, they have a funny way of becoming
urgent! - Which action will provide most visibility (for you personally or for the issue)? This is an especially useful concept when you’re a leader and want to demonstrate that you really are serious about a particular issue.
- Which action, if taken, will give you the best ROI? (best return on your
investment of effort, time, money and other resources). - Which action, once taken, will create a meaningful ripple effect?
And finally, the BIG one, the `core values’ criterion: - Which action, if implemented, will be most aligned with your legacy and the way in which you want to be remembered many years from now?
As you can see, there are many ways to look at the selection and implementation of ideas, and each has its own merit.
Are there any that you’d like to add? what has worked for you?