until you know what is important right now, what is important right now is to figure out what is important right now
killer question: “If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to get it?”
essentialist way:
1) explore (discern trivial many from vital few),
2) eliminate (cut trivial many),
3) execute (remove obstacles and make execution effortless)
stop making casual commitments, stop stepping in, stop caving in to social pressure
technique to assess opportunities:
write it down, define 3 min criteria and 3 top criteria it needs to pass so that you invest time (needs to pass 2 out of 3 for each)
reverse pilot: test whether removing an initiative/activity has negative consequences
paradox of success: 1) clarity of purpose, 2) reputation as „go to person“,
3) diffused efforts from external demands on time,
4) distraction from highest level of contribution
formulating an essential intent avoids straddling of strategies, politics, lack of leadership
Bill Gate's think week: week off to think/read (also during Microsoft's high-growth in 80s)
from Jeff Weiner, CEO at LinkedIn, FCS (a.k.a. FOCUS): "Fewer things done better", "Communicating the right information to the right people at the right time", "Speed and quality of decision making"