Executive Prioritizers

 Guest Post by Bobb Biehl

Excerpted with Bobb’s permission from Chapter One of his book “Leading with Confidence”

(Special Note from Bob Tiede:  Bobb  Biehl, is for me, the wisest man I have ever met!  I have been privileged to call him my friend and my personal mentor since 1980.   It was then – in 1980 – that Bobb first introduced me to his hobby of asking questions. Bobb began collecting questions, just as some people collect stamps or antiques.  I hope you too will join Bobb and me in making both collecting and asking questions a life long hobby because as Bobb says, “Questions are essential to gaining knowledge and understanding.”)

Questions to Ask…

When things start seeming foggy and overwhelming:

• If I could do only three things this year, what would they be?
• Of those three things, which should be done first? next?
• Fifty years from now, when looking back in time, what will I see as this year’s most significant accomplishments?
• (For each concern on your mind:) Is finding a solution to this problem a level-one, level-two, or level-three priority?

When you’re prioritizing spending decisions:

• If we had to reduce our budget by 50 percent, what would we cut?

When you’re deciding what data to seek or keep:

• To do what we have to do what do we have to know?

When you’re targeting problems:

• What are the two or three “land mines” in this situation that could explode and “kill” this project or program?
• What are the three most frequent miscommunications about our work?
• What problems are you struggling with for which you would happily pay 10 percent of your income to find a guaranteed solution?

When meeting someone who may be a key to your future success:

• Where do you see yourself five years from now?
• What are the biggest obstacles you face in reaching your goals?

When you meet a friend you haven’t seen in a while (to get past the small talk):

What’s the most meaningful thing that has happened to you since we last met?

Bobb Biehl is an Executive Mentor.   In 1976, he founded Masterplanning Group International. As its president, he has consulted personally with over 500 clients. In that time, he has met one-to-one with over 5,000 executives

Based on these thousands of hours of practical “rubber-meets-the-runway” experience, he has originated 35 leadership / management tools (books, tapes, notebooks) in the area of personal and organizational development – all of which are available to you at BobbBiehl.com