Michael owns a small technology business in Utah. As a regular reader of my blog posts, he reached out to ask for some help as he is a first-time entrepreneur and CEO. He told me that his days feel so scattered and that he needed some coaching on how to get better control of daily goals and workload.
Time management and productivity have always been an area of interest to me. I read a lot about the topic and love to ask other senior leaders how they stay productive so I can learn from their experience. Frequently, time management seeps into my coaching and consulting practice. A few years ago, a friend introduced me to her three ladder approach to daily time management.
I introduced Michael to the three-ladder idea that I think is a beautiful metaphor to help you get through your day keeping focused on strategic goals. The idea is simple.
Three Ladders
Imagine three ladders that are against a wall. Each ladder represents one of your three top annual strategic initiatives for your business. In Michael’s case, he had three strategic goals for his business in 2019, increase revenue by double digits, introduce a new product to his current customer base in Q3 and improve the company’s Net Promoter Score score so that more customers are willing to recommend their products to others.
The rungs are the steps required to achieve your goal for each initiative.
Every day, you need to choose one of the three ladders and work toward getting to the next rung. You might focus the entire day on activities aligned with getting up the ladder to the next level. Maybe you spend the morning climbing one of the ladders and then, you spend the afternoon on the second ladder. You don’t allow yourself to work on other matters until you have spent most of your day climbing one of the three strategic ladders.
Unaligned activities are relegated to the last part of the day. You put them off, you make them a low-priority, and you don’t spend most of your day working on them. By focusing on one ladder at a time, you spend most of your days advancing up a rung on each of your three top ladders to work on your top strategic goals.
Ladder of Success
I like the simplicity of this metaphor because it encapsulates the best way to manage a business. Few of us can handle more than three strategic initiatives over a year. Each one has many parts (rungs) and needs focus.
How are you climbing your three ladders of success?
Need help determining the right ladders to climb each day? Set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
Photo by Paulius Dragunas on Unsplash
Note: When I write about clients, I frequently disguise their name and location due to confidentiality requirements. The essence of the story is true.
