Priorities first

Solving overload starts by creating focus. Through our approach, we help organizations select a set of priorities that, together, genuinely accelerate the execution of their strategy.

Everyone understands that setting priorities is necessary to solve and prevent overload. But how do you determine the focus that truly accelerates strategy execution across the organization? It starts with having a clear overview of all initiatives and their interdependcies. Without that overview, prioritization is merely a paper exercise.

That is why we do not overlook the good work that is already underway. We map out the ongoing initiatives and work with each team to clearly understand which projects they are working on.

Surprisingly, the number of initiatives is often considerably higher than colleagues initially expect. If we identify 400 initiatives, we usually narrow that down to around 35 priorities. These priorities are selected based on the chosen strategic objectives. By having a complete overview and letting the objectives lead, we ensure that the selected initiatives truly deliver the greatest impact. In this way, both existing and new initiatives together contribute as much as possible to the company’s results.

At this stage, we are often asked: do we actually have the capacity to execute these priorities?

The obvious response is that we have just reduced the list from 400 to 35 initiatives — that alone should already make a significant difference.

But to be fair, the number of initiatives does not necessarily say much about the required capacity. One large project can require as much capacity as twenty smaller initiatives. The reality is that at this stage you still do not know whether you can deliver all 35 initiatives. What you do know is that these priorities together realize your strategy. In other words, they maximize portfolio success.

In short: decisions about how to allocate resources come after choosing your priorities — never the other way around. Once focus is determined, you still need to solve the puzzle of how to schedule these priorities over time, which colleagues you need to deliver them, and how much budget can be allocated to each initiative. When you let that puzzle guide your capacity planning, your resource allocation will make sense. But if capacity becomes the starting point, your strategy will lose direction.

You don’t prevent overload by treating capacity as the goal. You prevent it by making clear choices about what you will — and will not — do, based on impact.