Overcommitted. Part 2.
Last week, I launched a 3-part series on busyness. It’s an epidemic that impacts most teams.
The punchline from part 1 is to label busyness as a dysfunction. And this dysfunction is the true problem or enemy—not missed deadlines or budgets, which are merely symptoms.
Leaders must tackle this dysfunction head on and be willing to do the messy, complicated work of aligning on priorities.
For Part 2, let’s consider another punchline. You have less capacity than you think to launch new initiatives.
During my CIO career, I worked with a like-minded CFO. A saying of hers I loved was, “We’re shoving ten pounds of crap in a one-pound bag.”
To get aligned on priorities, it helps to know the size bag you have to get things done.
Most organizations only have 20% capacity to take on new things. This is a well-researched data point provided by many productivity gurus.
What does this mean? It means 80% of total hours are invested in “keep the lights on” activities. So, from an average perspective, you have 20% capacity for innovation projects.
Even for CIOs who say they’ve squeezed more productivity than that from their team, I’m going to call BS. Here’s why: CIOs still rely on non-IT resources to get work done. And on average, those other departments only have 20% to give.
Adding resources to the mix is a complex endeavor that often doesn’t solve the problem. From a load balancing perspective, you might have plenty of IT resources to succeed but they’re waiting on non-IT resources who have less capacity to execute on key initiatives.
But wait, there’s more! Turning on new things also includes risk mitigation, as much as growth & innovation. Even though we often use different prioritization processes to get aligned on each bucket, they still draw from the same pool of non-IT employees needed to get the jobs done.
CEOs need your help. They need you to align your exec peers on what’s possible. A good rule of thumb is that 20% of total hours can be used to turn on new things. Use that as a starting point for crucial conversations—and be sure to include the non-IT resources in that calculation.
Next week, I’ll wrap up with value-creation and how to scorecard it. If we only have 20% to give, we need to be working on the RIGHT things. Many IT leaders struggle with this, and I want to provide some practical tips to make it easier.
Make it a great day!
P.S. If prioritization is killing your team, please book a call with me. I’ve created a Vital Few Accelerator that helps IT leaders quickly deploy a CIO-tested, CEO-approved model for prioritization.
