"It's now time for a quiz." said the speaker to a group of leaders. He pulled out wide-mouthed jar and carefully placed a dozen rocks of size of a fist into the jar. He then asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone answered "Yes!"
the speaker said "Really?"
He picked a bucket full of gravel, dumped it into the jar and shook it a bit so that the gravel would go into the crevices between the big rocks. He smiled and asked the group once more, "Is the jar full now?"
"Probably not," one said. "Good," he replied.
Next he brought out a bucket of sand and dumped it into the jar filling the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and filled the jar to the brim. Finally, he asked "Who can tell me the point of this exercise?"
One of the participants raised his hand and said, "The point is that no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit more things into it!"
"Wrong!" the speaker shouted, "that's not the point at all. This exercise teaches this truth: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you will never get them in."
Moral of the story is:
It is often hard to focus on the big rocks when your day is full of crises.
Often, too much time and resources seem to be invested in the sand and gravel work of a job. Don't get me wrong! The sand and gravel stuff is important. But is that work contributing to your organization's goals? Take time to determine your big rocks.The five focusing steps of Eli Goldratt's Theory of Constraints further simplifies this. Identify the constraint (luckily there will be one or two in any complex organization), second step is to decide to exploit the same. third subordinate everything to that decision, fourth elevate and finally the fifth is to not to gloat about the victory but to get back to the first step.
the speaker said "Really?"
He picked a bucket full of gravel, dumped it into the jar and shook it a bit so that the gravel would go into the crevices between the big rocks. He smiled and asked the group once more, "Is the jar full now?"
"Probably not," one said. "Good," he replied.
Next he brought out a bucket of sand and dumped it into the jar filling the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and filled the jar to the brim. Finally, he asked "Who can tell me the point of this exercise?"
One of the participants raised his hand and said, "The point is that no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit more things into it!"
"Wrong!" the speaker shouted, "that's not the point at all. This exercise teaches this truth: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you will never get them in."
Moral of the story is:
It is often hard to focus on the big rocks when your day is full of crises.
Often, too much time and resources seem to be invested in the sand and gravel work of a job. Don't get me wrong! The sand and gravel stuff is important. But is that work contributing to your organization's goals? Take time to determine your big rocks.The five focusing steps of Eli Goldratt's Theory of Constraints further simplifies this. Identify the constraint (luckily there will be one or two in any complex organization), second step is to decide to exploit the same. third subordinate everything to that decision, fourth elevate and finally the fifth is to not to gloat about the victory but to get back to the first step.
