In a parable told by Jesus, a man
entrusted bags of gold to three men.
After a long time, the man came to
settle accounts. Two of the men had
been faithful stewards with their “trust”
funds. They both heard, “Well done,
good and faithful servant! You have
been faithful with a few things; I will
put you in charge of many things. Come
and share your master’s happiness!”
(Matthew 25:21, 23).
• those you would help if you don’t
have to neglect group #1
• those who will be fine with or without
you
Prioritize everything you do on the
basis of who’s going to be crying at
your funeral.
Of course, long-term priorities have to
be reflected in how we prioritize on a
daily basis.
Possibly the biggest obstacle to living
a balanced life is squeezing out enough At the very beginning of my career I
time. No man can do everything. heard an idea that I’ve used ever since.
Choices must be made.
The way I heard the story is that in
1918, Charles M. Schwab, the president
Here’s a practical tip to invest your of Bethlehem Steel, was concerned
limited time and money where they about inefficiency at his company. He
count the most: Don’t give yourself to hired a business consultant named Ivy
those who don’t absolutely need you at Lee, who coached all the executives to
the expense of those who do. Triage is write down their top priorities for the
the military technique of deciding how day—no more than ten things. Then Lee
to prioritize treatment of wounded told them, “Start on #1 and don’t get
soldiers when a wave of new casualties distracted until you finish. Then move
swamps the capacity of the medic unit. on to #2 and execute it completely
The helicopters bring back three groups without distraction. Then go on to #3,
of wounded soldiers:
#4, and so on.”
• those who will live if they receive
immediate treatment
• those who will live even if treatment
is delayed
• those who will die no matter what is
done
When arranged like that, the order of
treatment becomes obvious. In a similar
way, we can do a little civilian triage and
arrive at an obvious way to prioritize
when we’re faced with competing time
demands:
• those who can’t live without you, or
you without them
Lee said, “If you don’t finish your list,
don’t worry about it. Say you only
complete four items on your list. At
least you will know you’ve done the
four most important things. Then when
you make your list for the following day,
“
Don’t give yourself
to those who don’t
absolutely need you at
the expense of those
who do.
Solutions • 53