The single best business tool you can ever use
Adapt tools to your needs, not your needs to the tools.
When you turn to the tools, start with the best one. The one tool that will solve problems and get you started on every project. The tool from which any other tool can be built.
A list.
Why lists are the single best business tool
Let me list the ways.
Lists give you order
Organize everything you’ve been juggling inside your head. Put all that info into simple sentences or phrases. Find out if anything is missing or anything is out of order.
Creating a list gives you a simple snapshot of what you are working on.
Lists simplify steps
It is impossible to make tiramisu.
Getting something done is not about doing the thing: it is about performing a series of individual steps to achieve the thing as a final outcome. A list gives you those steps and makes the job simple.
Lists free up your brain
There is a lot of space up there, but attention is limited.
The more you have to remember things, the less effort remains available for other things. Like: actually working on those things.
Instead of recalling and remembering, put your attention and energy into productive work.
Lists improve planning
Once you have all your information in a simple order, you also have a plan.
You’ll be able to break work up into smaller steps, you’ll be able to see if something’s missing, and you’ll be able to make changes and move stuff around.
Which reminds us that
Lists make change easier
People worry that writing something down makes it a contract and takes away their freedom. This is wrong.
It’s not a commitment.
It is just a list.
You can change it at any point, and it is so easy to change. Having all the information laid out before you makes changing a simple step or idea easy.
What next
Bring your leaders or department heads together for everybody to answer the question: what is most important in your part of the business? Let that be your first list. And schedule a one-time consulting meeting to turn that list into a plan.