What Can Only You Do? What Should You Do Right Now?

Twitter asks, "What are you doing?"

Success asks, "What should you be doing?"

Harvard Business Review agrees with the latter:

"The higher up you get in an organization, the more you need to focus on what the company needs from you, not on what you want to do."

Stop. Look at what you're doing now. Then look at your calendar for the rest of today. How much of what you're doing is what you want to do vs. what your company needs you to do?

Especially if you're an entrepreneur or business leader, you need to do what you need to do, not what you want to do.

To the extent that those two ideas converge -- you love doing what you need to do -- you win. To the extent that they diverge ... you lose.

"While management experts advise doing what you are best at, great leaders do those things that only they can do"

What can only you do? (And may I suggest that it ought to include 80/20 Marketing?)

"Figure out what functions only you can perform. These may be tasks that are unique to your role, such as meeting with a key client or calling a top official. Or they may be strengths that the organization lacks, such as solid marketing skills. Gauge how you can be most useful and focus your time and effort there. Then delegate the rest."

To figure out what functions only you should perform, here's advice from Tom Hopkins, who uses this as one of his guiding principles: "I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment."

So, here's the question you need to answer, all day every day: What is the most productive thing that only you can do right now?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.