I was digging through one of my many notebooks today and came across notes from a Recourses webinar I attended more than a year ago. We often talk about how to prioritize our work. There is always more to do than there is time to do it. It’s important to get the most important things done first. What do you do that contributes the most value to your organization? What can you stop doing? How do you structure your day to contribute the most value?

As the CEO I often ask myself is my time better spent on Finance, coaching my staff, with clients, marketing, strategic planning, etc. There are endless things that could be done. These are the priorities the webinar mentioned for CEO level work:

• 1. The Financial Picture

An owner must keep their finger on the pulse of the company’s financials. I use many visuals, KPI’s, flash reports, metrics, etc. I spend a lot of time on finance and accounting.

• 1. Hiring/Molding Key Staff

It is harder to find great employees than finding great clients. You can’t hide from a bad employee experience. I spend quite a bit of time walking around talking to staff and coaching my direct reports. I have delegated the majority of our recruiting and hiring.

• 1. Positioning/Closing New Business

I spend about 40% of my time on marketing and sales. I enjoy meeting and working with new clients and doing marketing. This year I am going to attempt to increase the amount of time I spend doing this.

• 1. Strategy Work for Clients

An owner can build a bond during the prospecting stage. And then help the client with the big picture level work. Let your staff do the day-to-day work.

• 1. Implementation for Clients

Staff should do the majority of this work.

Principals of high performing teams focus mainly on the first three. We also set quarterly goals and focus our time working on those.

How does your organization help you prioritize your work?