Why You Can Only Have One Priority

The word priority comes from the Latin prior, which means former, previous, or first. Priorities are things that come first, literally first in time. If you define priority as the thing that comes first, you can have exactly one. One priority. Therefore, the answer is that two firsts are too many. Ipso facto three, five, and seventeen priorities are also too many. Focusing on that first priority is the most efficient way to get to priority two. How often does your leadership team talk about priorities? When you say “prioritize,” what does it mean? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Watch this next: 1 Yes and 3 Less - A Different Way to Look at Prioritization: https://youtu.be/PjEdcr3nyH4 How to Prioritize Tasks: https://lianedavey.com/how-to-prioritize-tasks/ How Many is Too Many Priorities?: https://lianedavey.com/how-many-is-too-many-priorities/ My book on using productive conflict to get your team and organization back on track: https://www.lianedavey.com/goodfight/ About me: I've never climbed Mount Everest (and never will). So far, I've never been in space. I don't even have an Olympic gold medal (although I did win the Grade 9 Phys Ed award). But the prize for solving the most difficult team challenges is named after me (no, not really, but someday it probably will be). For the past 25 years, I've researched and advised teams on how to achieve high performance. Known as the “teamwork doctor,” I've worked with teams from the frontlines to the boardroom, across a variety of industries, and around the globe from Boston to Bangkok. In working with hundreds of teams, including 26 Global Fortune 500 companies (and counting), I've developed a unique perspective on the challenges that teams face – and how to solve them. https://www.lianedavey.com/about/ Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lianedavey/ https://www.lianedavey.com #psychology #productivity #priorities