Getting to It: Accomplishing the Important, Handling the Urgent, and Removing the Unnecessary
For readers with endless to-do lists and more tasks than time in a day, the authors of Juggling Elephants (2007) offer a practical guide to sorting out the IT (important thing) that eludes them. Failure to clearly define IT leads to misguided priorities and wasted effort. The authors cite examples from the personal to the professional, including Toyota’s recent spate of recalls for safety issues because the company lost sight of its IT of high safety and quality, as cautionary tales of failure to define or focus on IT. Their prescription: clearly define IT, plan IT, focus on IT, and get excited about IT. Loflin and Musig offer the image of the flood of everyday and urgent tasks going through a funnel desperately in need of filtering. Individual and corporate filters are influenced by values, responsibilities, and available resources, which all help to identify actions that can advance important goals or information needed to build momentum toward the goal. Readers will appreciate this practical guide that counsels balance between the personal and professional in the process of accomplishing IT. --Vanessa Bush