Cambridge Business Association
Do What Matters Most
Book

Do What Matters Most

Lead with a Vision, Manage with a Plan, Prioritize Your Time

Steve Shallenberger and Rob Shallenberger
Berrett-Koehler, 2021
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

In the age of perpetual distraction, executives and employees alike yearn for strategies to manage their time and get things done. Steve and Rob Shallenberger, a father-and-son leadership consultant team, devised this holistic guide for raising both professional and personal productivity. Through detailed descriptions of their “do what matters most skill set,” and directions for how to implement these skills, they provide a practical road map for change. Although the text is repetitive, its solid structure and helpful graphics make this how-to guide a valuable business and personal tool.

Summary

Applying the three-pronged “do what matters most skill set” – developing a personal vision, establishing roles and goals, and creating weekly plans – can end your productivity woes.

For businesses and their employees, maximizing productivity is a primary goal. Few, however, have a workable process in place to achieve that goal. For example, a survey of 1,260 managers and leaders from 108 different organizations found that, while 68% of respondents identified time management as their biggest challenge, only 20% of them had a plan in place to address the problem.

Conquering performance obstacles requires both a commitment to change – a “willing mind-set” – and the right skills to make the change happen. Research shows that habitual use of the “do what matters most” skill set, or “big three skill set,” can increase productivity between 30% and 50%. The habits of the big three skill set are:

  1. Developing a personal vision of what matters most.
  2. Defining roles and setting annual goals.
  3. Executing pre-week planning.

These habits hone your strategic, operational and tactical focus, respectively. Committing...

About the Authors

Steve Shallenberger is the president of Synergy Companies and the author of Becoming Your Best. His son, Rob Shallenberger, has been a productivity and leadership coach for companies around the world.

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