Business Priorities Are key for Strong Leadership

Business Priorities Are key for Strong Leadership

Do you want more control over your time and energy? Learn to set business priorities.

You have the power to control how you spend your time and energy.

Millions of women quit their jobs in the past year because they want more control over their time and schedule. One of my favorite perks of being a business owner and leader is having greater control over my time. That freedom has allowed me to prioritize my health and happiness with regular daily exercise, physical and mental health therapies, taking vacations, spending time with family and friends and exploring new places and parts of me. 

It is your business. You are the boss. You get to decide how to spend your time and to give your employees greater control over their time so all together the work gets done for the customer.

Control over time begins with setting business priorities. You created a business that allows you to create a culture that will make it an organization that people want to work for, including you. Priority setting can help you build great company. I explain how to set priorities in detail in my free eBook Priority System 7.

Why priorities setting is both helpful and revealing about you and your business.

Establish a criterion that helps determine what goes on your priority list.  People, Money and Systems are the three categories that require most of your time and attention, particularly in the beginning. Keep them top of mind when setting priorities.

People including employees, contractors, and customers are your most valuable assets.

Your top 7 priorities should reflect the needs of these groups.  Without your employees or team members  you can’t deliver services to your customers. When making your list keep the needs of your employees top of mind so they can do the best job for your customers. 

What is often revealed in the early days of priority setting is a need for a job description for you and your team members. You started the business; you were doing all the jobs. As your organization grows you can step back from some day-to-day tasks. Turn that work over to people with the best skills and mind set.

Changing role of the founder & CEO

When writing your new CEO job description be sure to include the work you love doing, be it growth strategy, business development or marketing. Give most of your other jobs to people who are  better at it than you. Seeing all the tasks and functions required to run your business through a priority driven lens will also help you build an organizational chart. As you grow you can hire people to fill those places holders on the chart.

Money needs to be made and managed.

Money making opportunities in terms of pricing, contracts and sales are almost always on a priority list. The documents, models or videos that need to be produced to support the sales process belong on your priority list until they are part of a sales system. Managing the money in terms of billing, collections and accounting must be a priority that is systematized and consistently reevaluated. How you make and manage money determines how much you can pay your employees and yourself.

Systems allow you to grow and scale your company.

In the beginning of a business many of your priority items need to be about setting up your systems for hiring, accounting, tech and CRM (customer relationship management) etc. Once those systems are tested and functioning properly you can prioritize checking and updating those systems quarterly to insure smooth sailing.

Priorities help set a direction for you and your company.

Without priorities you are left to work in reaction to what is coming at you from customers, the market, the competition, or employees. Why go back to the days where you lived at the whim of a distant boss? Now you have the chance to be the leader, to set the stage for a great company with excellent priorities.