The On-Time, On-Target Manager

The On-Time, On-Target Manager
How a “Last Minute Manager” Conquered Procrastination

by Ken Blanchard and Steve Gottry

pg 24 Please mark the following personal and business priorities in order by placing numbers from 1 to 7 in front of them (1 being the most important).

Health and Fitness
Faith/Spiritual Life
Career
Spouse and/or Family
Friends
Education/Knowledge
Recreation/Sports

Please rank these events according to their priority in your life today. In other words, which one of these responsibilities would rise to the top of your “to do” list, assuming they were all on your list at the same time?

Before returning this questionnaire, please look up the word “Priority” in your dictionary.

pri-or-i-ty

(1) being earlier or more important, precedence in rank or order, the right to be first; (2) something that is more important than other items or considerations.

pg 32 “We’re going to expect everyone at Algalon to ‘triage’ every activity. That way, they’ll always handle the important things – the priorities – first, instead of dealing with things on a first-come, first-served basis. People who know what’s most important are seldom late when dealing with these high priorities.”

Yes: Want to do and have to do; have to do but don’t want to do
Maybe: Want to do but don’t have to do
No: Don’t want to do and don’t have to do

“The worst of the last minute managers actually perform some of the tasks in the ‘No’ column. That’s a tragedy!”

pg 48 PROPRIETY: THE BILL OF RIGHTS

- Do the right thing.
- Do it for the right reasons.
- Do it with the right people.
- Do it at the right time.
- Do it in the right order.
- Do it with intensity.
- Do it for the right results.

pg 86 The graduates of a small high school returned to their hometown for their ten-year reunion. One of the classmates asked the others to answer a simple question: “Who was the person who most influenced your life while you were in school?”

She expected to receive a wide range of answers – the principal, a coach, a favourite teacher – but when the answers were turned in, there was one clear choice.
The janitor.
The reason?

Every day, after everyone had gone home, the janitor cleaned the rooms and washed the whiteboards. Then, this man who had only completed fourth grade wrote three simple misspelled words on the upper corner of the whiteboard: “YA GOTTA WANNA.”

This man had inspired many generations of students to “wanna”. But his simple statement raises a couple of questions. “What do you gotta wanna do?” And “Why do you wanna do it?”

(insight from the book… this ‘ya gotta wanna’ relates to your commitment to the right priorities; to the things that really matter)

pg 97 The Three P’s of the On-Time, On-Target Person:

PRIORITY. Triage everything.
PROPRIETY. Remember the Bill of Rights.
COMMITMENT. “I gotta wanna.”