I was assisting a process owner on improving his function’s process flow. His  section together with the rest in the organization is in most cases faced with  “unexpected” urgent matters that need to be done soon. BUT these unfortunately are not in his scope of work. Let us admit that such scenarios happen in  operations, and in a “quality managed system” the best defense for this is risk based thinking”.

Nevertheless, for those still on the journey to quality management system, a  recommended approach on this, is prioritizing by choosing your big rocks? The  usual reply, of course is – all of them are big rocks!!

How do we define big rocks? Are these that require immediate action as mandated  by “management”? OR are these the obstructions to completing my tasks?

A risk-thinking approach is to use priority matrix. Yes, it does help, but even before  using this, it is essential to clarify your definition of “big rock”. A wise approach is  to ask oneself why am I in this position?

However, a more realistic approach to know what your “big rock “is not what you  need to complete first . BUT the one that IS DEEP-SEATED TO YOUR JOB ROLE  AND YOUR KEY PERFORMANCE OUTPUT. Why do you think? Because they  are essentially linked to the organization’s STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES. Look for  your “big rock” that will block and stall the course of your own performance marker

but also those of other cross-functional key indicators; causing breakdown to the  mother goals.

“How can I put these all together when my Boss is always at my back on results of  the “unexpected urgent” projects (UUP)?”

At the start of the year create your “master plan” – here are the recommended  steps –

– Identify and List the activities of your key results areas with corresponding  KPIS

– Prioritize: define the Big Rock/s

– Plan your activities with milestones; resources, timeline

– Incorporate the “what ifs” (risk-based thinking)

– Blend the solutions into the plan

– Execute

– Monitor

When a UUP occurs, it will not be tough to pinpoint where in your Plan the  modification reside with less impact to the original one.

– At year end – Review your “master plan” and assess yourself on how it was  executed.

– Identify what can be improved and set as a standard that worked well.

This is a cycle with a word of caution to consider the business and  organizational changes for the next cycle. Adapt changes when needed.