Prioritizing Strategic Change Initiatives Effectively

Ever heard of the "Action Priority Matrix"? This is a simple, yet often overlooked, powerful tool and is one I use regularly with my teams. There are always going to be competing priorities in business, so which do you tackle first? I've learned that many professionals were never taught how to think about prioritization. Here is how APM works: Always start by prioritizing the action item that has the highest potential impact, with the lowest effort. These are your "quick wins". Follow this by those initiatives that are high potential impact, but also high effort. These are considered your "major projects". Then, cross off the low impact, low effort items. These are your "fill-ins". Finally, you are left with the lowest impact, highest effort tasks. Either delegate or eliminate these "thankless tasks". Prioritization and swift action is how you win in business. Make this simple tool a part of your everyday approach and watch the magic happen.

I’m convinced that a simple 3 part system is the biggest reason I was able to build a billion-dollar company. We covered part 1 previously. Here’s part 2: Clear goals are necessary, but not sufficient. Once you know where you want to end up, you still have to figure out how to get there. Businesses are very complex. I know what it’s like to look at other companies executing flawlessly and think, how the hell do they know when to zig and when to zag? The answer is, they don’t. They know something far more important. They know how to simplify. Here’s what I mean: Take Impact Theory. It’s actually 3 companies in 1. But when I think of it that way, my thinking becomes unfocused. I have to simplify everything to a single thought: profitable revenue is king. That changes the calculus from “How do I juggle three companies with all of their competing needs?” to “What will make me the most profitable revenue right now?” That simple mantra gives you the ability to prioritize. There will be a lot of opportunities before you, but with the second half of the framework mentioned in part 1, KYG-ICE, you’ll be able to slot all of your initiatives into priority order. ICE stands for Impact, Confidence, and Ease. Those are the three metrics by which you will judge any idea. How much Impact would the idea have in success?  How Confident are you that it will be successful?  How easy will it be to execute on? As you think through all of the possible options of what to do next, if you run that formula, you find the thing with the highest impact, highest confidence, and lowest difficulty. Rank things according to that, and then execute like crazy. That’s where Part 3 comes in: Move quickly. You can always backtrack. There are very few decisions that you can’t unwind. As I often say, the only real mistake is standing still. Even failure, as long as it’s not a terminal failure, is educational. If you try something and it doesn’t work, back up and try the next thing. As long as you execute in priority order based on the ICE formula, you simply need to keep going. That’s the secret system that I used to build a billion dollar company and a billion view company. KYG-ICE. Clarity, simplicity, speed. May it serve you as well as it has served me.

🚨 The Priority Trap: When Everything is "High Priority" Sound familiar? - Your team is overwhelmed - Every project is "urgent" - Resources are stretched thin - Multiple "top priorities" competing - Nobody knows what to focus on first The default solution? High/Medium/Low prioritization. The reality? It's a trap that creates: • An overstuffed "High" category • Confused teams • Wasted resources • Missed strategic goals Enter: THE BUCKET METHOD 🪣 A systematic approach that forces real prioritization: 1️⃣ Initial Sort Take ALL initiatives (let's say 60) Split into 3 equal buckets (20/20/20) Don't overthink it - this is just round one 2️⃣ Team Review Present the initial sort Welcome disagreements Key question: "If X moves up, what moves down?" 3️⃣ Define Success Criteria Establish clear metrics for "top priority" Align on strategic importance Create objective measurement standards 4️⃣ Refine Top 20 Break into smaller buckets (e.g., top 5, next 7, final 8) Apply criteria rigorously No ties allowed! 5️⃣ Final Stack Rank Create clear 1-20 ranking Document rationale Communicate across organization 🎯 Remember: There can only be ONE #1 priority! The magic? It forces tough choices while making the impossible feel manageable. What's your biggest prioritization challenge? Share below! 👇 #Leadership #Strategy #ExecutiveLeadership #Prioritization #DecisionMaking