In my consulting days, we saved a client a few million dollars with a simple recommendation.
This company was spending $10 million plus on postal mail, mostly on overnight/express delivery that cost 3 to 10 times more than normal (and slower) postal mail.
So, by limiting the use of overnight delivery, the company could easily save a couple of millions. But don’t you think we commit a similar blunder in our work lives?
In the corporate world, whenever a task is assigned, how often do we make it ‘urgent,’ whether or not it was merited? After all, why not get things done faster?
The problem is the same. Like in the case of postal mail, ‘urgent’ does not come free. Because when I am assigned an urgent task, I will put aside the thing I am working on, no matter how important or impactful it was.
And when lots of things are made ‘urgent,’ we create a culture of constant firefighting, while genuinely important tasks take a backseat — not to mention the stress and burnout it causes.
Before we stick that ‘urgent’ label onto a task, we better think twice. Because six months later, 90% of the urgent tasks would appear irrelevant, whereas the important things will keep delivering fruits.
We want everything as of yesterday. But at what cost?
Be smart. Stop this craziness — not everything is urgent.
– Rajan