Priorities: DeMarco Banter

There are several things great leaders do….that make them great.
You can tell a great deal about a leader and what drives him/her just by observing their priorities.

pri·or·i·ty (pr-ôr-t, -r-)
n. pl. pri·or·i·ties
1. Precedence, especially established by order of importance.

Ponder any great leader and think about their priority system
Was it:

Easy things first?
Fun things first?
Urgent things first?
Hard things first
or…first things first?

First things first…when a leader has a clear vision, a clear strategy, a clear mission… she/he can always place first things first.

Stephen Covey even made First things First his #3 Habit in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:

Habit 3 is about life management: your purpose, values, roles, and priorities. What are “first things?” First things are those things you, personally, find of most worth. If you put first things first, you are organizing and managing time and events…

Absent the vision…a team can quickly become a mess…chasing the easy, the fun, the urgent, and/or the hard things… all at the same time and never achieving the greatness they were destined for…had the leader only established a vision.

Always remember… First things First… and if you don’t know what the first things are… there might be a problem with your vision.