When I explain this system to people, the main objection I hear from them is that their to do list is not static. They do not begin their day with a fixed list of things that need to be done. New items are added to their list all day.
That's why we use the delegate, record, do technique from Chapter 2 for dealing with interruptions. We can use our customers' expectations to influence which of these three actions we take.
A request for resetting a password should happen quickly because it's holding up other work. Therefore, it might be faster to do it than to delegate it to someone else. And you certainly don't want to record the task for later when it means delaying a person's entire schedule.
Mutual interruption shield revisited
Not only does this technique work for prioritizing your personal to do list, but you can use it to plan on a larger scale. Use it to organize your entire computer support department!
Remember the mutual interruption shield technique from Chapter 1? Essentially, you implement this system to make sure that people's expectations are matched. Your coworker catches all interrupts for half of the day so that you can get projects done, and you reverse roles for the other half of the day. What you're really doing is making sure that there is someone to do the tasks that customers expect will happen quickly.
Most helpdesks have Tier 1 members who answer the phone and only push an issue to the Tier 2 staff when they are stumped. This is, essentially, creating a mutual interruption shield for the entire team while providing response times that match customer expectations!
Prioritizing based on customer expectations and using the mutual interruption shield replicates the helpdesk tier system, which validates the combination. Or, one might say that the tier structure is validated by the fact that it aims to reach the goal of meeting customer expectations. Either way, it's pretty cool, huh?
Project Priorities
The previous sections described ways to prioritize individual tasks. Now I'll present some useful techniques for prioritizing projects.
Prioritization for Impact
Let's say that you and your fellow SAs brainstormed 20 great projects to do next year. However, you only have the budget and people to accomplish a few of them. Which projects should you pick?
In general, I find I get better results when I choose projects on a "biggest impact first" basis.
It's tempting to pick the easy projects and do them first. You know how to do them, and there isn't much controversy around them, so at least you'll know that they'll be completed.
It's very tempting to pick out the fun projects, or the politically safe projects, or the projects that are the obvious next steps based on past projects.
Ignore those temptations and find the projects that will have the biggest positive impact on your organization's goals. In fact, I assert that it is better to do one big project that will have a large, positive impact than many easy projects that are superficial. I've seen it many times. An entire team working on one goal works better than everyone having a different project. This is because we work better when we work together.
Here's another way to look at it. All projects can fit into one of the four categories listed in Figure 8-3.
Figure 8-3. Project impact versus effort
It's obvious to do category A first. An easy project that will have a big impact is rare, and when such a project magically appears in front of us, it's obvious to do it. (Warning: be careful, a project's A status may be a mirage.)
It's also obvious to avoid category D projects. A project that is difficult and won't change much shouldn't be attempted.
However, most projects are either in category B or C and it is human nature to be drawn to the easy C projects. You can fill your year with easy projects, list many accomplishments, and come away looking very good. However, highly successful companies train their management to reward workers who take on category B projects—the difficult but necessary ones.
Once you think about it in terms of return on investment (ROI), it makes sense. You are going to spend a certain amount of money this year. Do you spend it on many small projects, each of which will not have a big impact? No, you look at the biggest positive impact and put all your investment into that effort.
It is important to make sure these big impact projects are aligned with your company's goals. It is important for the company and important for you, too. You will be more valued that way.
Requests from Your Boss
If your boss asks you to do something, and it's a quick task (not a major project), do it right away. For example, if your boss asks you to find out approximately how many PCs use the old version of Windows, get back to him with a decent estimate in a few minutes.
It helps to understand the big picture. Usually such requests are made because your boss is putting together a much larger plan or budget and you can hold up your boss's entire day by not getting back to him with an answer quickly. Perhaps he is working out the staffing and cost estimates to bring all PCs up to the latest release of Windows. The entire project would be held up while waiting for your answer.
Why does this matter? Well, your boss decides your next salary review. Do I need to say more?
Maybe I do. Your boss will have a fixed amount of money he can dole out for all raises. If he gives more to Moe, then Larry is going to get less. When your boss is looking at the list of people in the team, do you want him to look at your name and think, "He sure did get me an estimate of the number of out-of-date Windows quickly. Gosh, he always gets me the things I need quickly." Or, do you want your boss to be thinking, "You know, the entire budget was held up for a day because I was waiting for that statistic." Or worse yet, "All the times I looked foolish in front of my boss because of a missed deadline, it was because I was waiting for so-and-so to get me a piece of information. So-and-so isn't getting a good raise this year."
Managing Your Boss
Many people think that management is a one-way street. I disagree. Management is a relationship, and you share influence in how the relationship evolves. It is difficult to get anything done, or to have a satisfying career, if you do not have a good relationship with your manager. Alternatively, with a good relationship you can get more done, have increased job satisfaction, and accelerate your career.
If you do a web search for "manage your boss," you will find many excellent articles. This is a sign that many people feel the need to have a better relationship with their boss. Schedule some time to read a few of them.
I think the three most important keys to managing your boss are to use him to help advance your career, to know when to use upward delegation , and to understand and contribute to his goals.
Make sure your boss knows your career goals
Make sure your boss knows where you want to be two, five, or ten years from now. Your boss doesn't have ESP. In fact, if you are doing your job well, he may be hoping that you want to stay right where you are. It's less chaotic for him if everyone just wants to stay put. But that's not your career goal, right? You want to move into a more senior role, or move into management, or possibly you are just doing this job until you've saved enough money to pay your bills while you struggle to become a full-time artist, actor, or author.