Stephen Covey says that every duty you have falls into one of these four quadrants:
While it’s normal to live in Q-1 for some of the day, fighting fires is no way to get ahead. Spending your days only in Q-1 means that your life next year is going to look very much like it does right now. If you want things to change, you need to intentionally carve out time to live in Q-2. Q-2 doesn’t scream at you. It includes things like systems building, exercise, planning, role clarifying, team-building, looking for great people for the future. It’s working on your business, not just in it.
What Q-2 activity can you carve into your week this week to change your life for the better?
“Only 3 things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership” – Peter Drucker