Stop Teaching People to “Prioritize” When Your Business Has Zero Clue What Genuinely Matters: Why Task Organization Training Doesn’t Work in Dysfunctional Organizations

I’m about to dismantle one of the greatest widespread false beliefs in workplace training: the belief that training workers better “task management” skills will resolve time management challenges in companies that have no clear direction themselves.

With nearly two decades of working with companies on efficiency problems, I can tell you that task management training in a dysfunctional organization is like instructing someone to organize their items while their building is literally on fire around them.

Here’s the fundamental reality: the majority of organizations suffering from productivity issues don’t have productivity problems – they have management dysfunction.

Traditional time planning training believes that workplaces have consistent, reliable objectives that employees can learn to understand and focus toward. This assumption is totally divorced from actual workplace conditions in the majority of current companies.

I worked with a large advertising company where staff were repeatedly expressing frustration about being “struggling to manage their responsibilities properly.” Management had poured hundreds of thousands on task organization training for all employees.

Their training included all the standard techniques: Eisenhower matrices, task classification approaches, schedule blocking techniques, and complex work tracking software.

But efficiency continued to drop, worker frustration rates rose, and client delivery times became more unreliable, not more efficient.

After I investigated what was genuinely occurring, I discovered the underlying issue: the company as a whole had absolutely no stable priorities.

Here’s what the typical reality looked like for workers:

Monday: Top management would declare that Client A was the “most critical priority” and all staff must to work on it right away

The next day: A another executive executive would announce an “urgent” email declaring that Project B was really the “most essential” priority

Wednesday: A third division head would organize an “immediate” session to declare that Initiative C was a “essential” requirement that needed to be completed by immediately

Day four: The original executive executive would express disappointment that Initiative A was not progressed as expected and demand to know why staff were not “focusing on” it properly

By week’s end: Each three initiatives would be delayed, multiple commitments would be failed, and workers would be held responsible for “inadequate priority management techniques”

That scenario was repeated constantly after week, systematically after month. Absolutely no amount of “time management” training was going to assist employees manage this management chaos.

The fundamental problem wasn’t that staff couldn’t understand how to prioritize – it was that the company as a whole was totally unable of maintaining stable priorities for more than 48 hours at a time.

We helped leadership to eliminate their concentration on “personal priority organization” training and instead create what I call “Strategic Direction Management.”

Instead of attempting to show workers to organize within a constantly changing system, we concentrated on creating real strategic priorities:

Created a single leadership management team with defined authority for establishing and preserving company priorities

Implemented a structured project assessment process that happened on schedule rather than constantly

Created clear criteria for when priorities could be changed and what degree of authorization was required for such changes

Implemented enforced coordination protocols to guarantee that all focus changes were announced clearly and uniformly across every teams

Established buffer times where no focus changes were permitted without emergency approval

Their improvement was immediate and substantial:

Staff stress rates decreased substantially as people finally understood what they were required to be concentrating on

Productivity increased by nearly significantly within 45 days as staff could really focus on delivering projects rather than continuously redirecting between multiple priorities

Client delivery results got better considerably as departments could coordinate and execute tasks without daily changes and modifications

External relationships increased substantially as deliverables were actually delivered on time and to standards

That point: prior to you teach employees to organize, make sure your organization genuinely possesses clear strategic focus that are worth working toward.

Here’s a different method that task management training doesn’t work in chaotic companies: by presupposing that staff have real authority over their time and priorities.

We worked with a public sector organization where staff were constantly being reprimanded for “ineffective task planning” and sent to “efficiency” training sessions.

This actual situation was that these workers had essentially zero control over their daily activities. Let me describe what their average day looked like:

About 60% of their workday was taken up by compulsory conferences that they were not allowed to decline, no matter of whether these conferences were relevant to their real job

A further one-fifth of their schedule was dedicated to completing mandatory documentation and administrative tasks that added absolutely no usefulness to their primary job or to the people they were meant to serve

The remaining small portion of their workday was meant to be allocated for their actual work – the activities they were paid to do and that genuinely mattered to the public

However even this limited amount of availability was regularly invaded by “urgent” demands, unexpected meetings, and management demands that were not allowed to be delayed

With these circumstances, absolutely no amount of “priority planning” training was going to help these employees become more effective. The problem wasn’t their employee task planning skills – it was an organizational framework that ensured productive activity almost unachievable.

We worked with them create structural reforms to fix the underlying obstacles to effectiveness:

Eliminated unnecessary conferences and implemented specific requirements for when gatherings were really required

Simplified administrative obligations and got rid of redundant form-filling processes

Established dedicated blocks for actual job tasks that were not allowed to be invaded by non-essential demands

Created defined procedures for deciding what qualified as a genuine “immediate priority” versus routine demands that could wait for appropriate slots

Established delegation processes to guarantee that tasks was shared appropriately and that zero employee was carrying excessive load with impossible responsibilities

Worker productivity rose dramatically, job happiness improved notably, and their agency finally commenced offering improved outcomes to the public they were supposed to help.

That important point: organizations cannot solve time management issues by showing individuals to function better successfully within broken structures. You need to improve the systems first.

Now let’s examine perhaps the greatest laughable component of priority planning training in dysfunctional workplaces: the idea that workers can mysteriously prioritize tasks when the organization as a whole shifts its priorities several times per month.

We worked with a technology company where the CEO was famous for experiencing “innovative” insights several times per week and expecting the entire organization to instantly pivot to pursue each new priority.

Staff would show up at the office on Monday with a specific awareness of their priorities for the day, only to find that the leadership had decided over the weekend that everything they had been working on was not relevant and that they needed to immediately start concentrating on an initiative totally unrelated.

This cycle would occur multiple times per week. Work that had been stated as “critical” would be forgotten halfway through, departments would be repeatedly moved to different projects, and massive amounts of time and work would be squandered on work that were never delivered.

Their company had invested heavily in “flexible project planning” training and complex project management tools to assist employees “respond quickly” to evolving priorities.

However zero level of education or software could address the fundamental problem: organizations won’t be able to effectively organize perpetually evolving objectives. Continuous modification is the enemy of effective prioritization.

The team helped them establish what I call “Disciplined Objective Stability”:

Implemented scheduled strategic assessment periods where significant direction modifications could be considered and implemented

Created firm requirements for what represented a valid justification for adjusting established priorities outside the regular review periods

Established a “priority protection” time where no changes to set directions were allowed without extraordinary justification

Established clear coordination systems for when priority modifications were really required, with complete cost evaluations of what projects would be delayed

Established written authorization from senior decision-makers before each major strategy changes could be enacted

The change was outstanding. After a quarter, measurable initiative success statistics rose by more than three times. Employee frustration rates dropped considerably as staff could finally work on completing projects rather than repeatedly initiating new ones.

Creativity actually improved because departments had enough time to completely explore and evaluate their concepts rather than constantly changing to new initiatives before any project could be properly completed.

That lesson: effective organization needs objectives that stay stable long enough for teams to actually work on them and accomplish meaningful outcomes.

This is what I’ve concluded after years in this field: priority planning training is exclusively valuable in companies that currently have their organizational priorities working properly.

Once your workplace has stable organizational direction, achievable workloads, competent management, and systems that facilitate rather than prevent effective work, then time organization training can be useful.

However if your organization is characterized by continuous chaos, conflicting messages, inadequate organization, impossible demands, and reactive leadership cultures, then time planning training is more harmful than pointless – it’s systematically destructive because it holds responsible personal performance for systemic dysfunction.

Quit throwing away resources on time organization training until you’ve resolved your organizational direction first.

Begin establishing workplaces with stable organizational direction, functional leadership, and structures that really support efficient activity.

The staff will prioritize just effectively once you give them direction suitable for prioritizing and an environment that actually supports them in completing their responsibilities. overburdened with impossible workloads

Worker efficiency rose dramatically, professional fulfillment improved considerably, and this department actually began providing higher quality services to the community they were intended to help.

That key insight: you can’t address productivity problems by teaching people to function more successfully within dysfunctional organizations. You must repair the structures before anything else.

Currently let’s discuss perhaps the biggest laughable element of task planning training in chaotic organizations: the assumption that workers can magically prioritize tasks when the company itself changes its direction several times per month.

The team worked with a technology startup where the CEO was famous for experiencing “brilliant” revelations multiple times per day and demanding the complete team to immediately pivot to pursue each new priority.

Workers would come at work on any given day with a specific knowledge of their objectives for the period, only to learn that the leadership had decided overnight that all priorities they had been concentrating on was suddenly not a priority and that they should to instantly begin focusing on an initiative totally new.

That pattern would repeat multiple times per week. Projects that had been stated as “essential” would be forgotten mid-stream, teams would be repeatedly re-assigned to different initiatives, and enormous quantities of resources and investment would be wasted on initiatives that were ultimately not completed.

The organization had poured heavily in “agile task planning” training and sophisticated task management software to assist workers “respond quickly” to shifting directions.

But zero level of skill development or tools could overcome the basic problem: organizations cannot effectively organize continuously evolving priorities. Continuous change is the enemy of successful organization.

The team helped them create what I call “Strategic Priority Stability”:

Established scheduled priority planning periods where major strategy changes could be considered and implemented

Created strict criteria for what represented a genuine basis for changing established priorities outside the regular assessment sessions

Established a “objective consistency” phase where zero modifications to set priorities were permitted without extraordinary approval

Established clear communication systems for when priority modifications were really necessary, including thorough cost evaluations of what work would be interrupted

Required written sign-off from several leaders before any substantial direction changes could be implemented

The improvement was dramatic. Within a quarter, real work completion percentages increased by more than three times. Employee frustration instances dropped substantially as staff could actually focus on delivering work rather than continuously initiating new ones.

Innovation actually improved because teams had sufficient resources to completely develop and evaluate their ideas rather than constantly switching to new initiatives before any project could be fully completed.

That reality: successful prioritization requires priorities that remain stable long enough for employees to genuinely focus on them and complete substantial outcomes.

Let me share what I’ve concluded after decades in this business: time management training is merely effective in organizations that currently have their organizational priorities working properly.

If your workplace has stable organizational priorities, realistic demands, effective management, and structures that facilitate rather than obstruct efficient performance, then time management training can be useful.

However if your organization is defined by continuous crisis management, conflicting messages, inadequate planning, unrealistic demands, and emergency leadership approaches, then priority planning training is more counterproductive than useless – it’s directly destructive because it faults employee behavior for organizational dysfunction.

Stop throwing away money on task planning training until you’ve fixed your organizational dysfunction before anything else.

Focus on creating organizations with consistent business direction, competent decision-making, and structures that actually support productive work.

The employees would manage tasks just effectively once you give them direction worth working toward and an workplace that actually enables them in doing their responsibilities.

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Stop Teaching People to “Organize” When Your Organization Has No Understanding What Really Is Important: Why Time Planning Training Fails in Dysfunctional Companies

Let me going to destroy one of the greatest popular myths in organizational training: the assumption that showing workers better “prioritization” methods will solve efficiency problems in workplaces that have absolutely no coherent priorities themselves.

Following extensive experience of working with organizations on efficiency problems, I can tell you that time management training in a chaotic workplace is like instructing someone to organize their possessions while their home is actively on fire around them.

This is the fundamental issue: most organizations dealing with from time management crises don’t have efficiency problems – they have management failures.

Traditional priority management training presupposes that organizations have consistent, unchanging priorities that workers can be trained to identify and concentrate toward. This idea is totally divorced from the real world in the majority of current organizations.

The team consulted with a major communications firm where employees were constantly complaining about being “struggling to manage their responsibilities properly.” Management had poured massive sums on priority planning training for each employees.

This training included all the typical methods: Eisenhower systems, task classification approaches, time management techniques, and detailed work management systems.

Yet productivity kept to drop, staff stress rates rose, and client delivery times got more unreliable, not better.

After I examined what was really occurring, I discovered the actual cause: the company as a whole had zero stable strategic focus.

This is what the typical situation looked like for workers:

Each week: Executive executives would communicate that Client A was the “top objective” and everyone needed to focus on it immediately

Tuesday: A different top executive would distribute an “urgent” communication stating that Initiative B was really the “most essential” priority

48 hours later: Yet another department leader would call an “emergency” session to declare that Client C was a “essential” deliverable that needed to be delivered by end of week

The following day: The first executive leader would express disappointment that Initiative A was not been completed enough and require to know why people had not been “focusing on” it correctly

End of week: Each three clients would be delayed, various deliverables would be not met, and staff would be criticized for “poor priority organization abilities”

Such scenario was repeated continuously after week, systematically after month. No degree of “task organization” training was able to enable employees manage this organizational dysfunction.

This fundamental issue wasn’t that employees didn’t know how to prioritize – it was that the company as a whole was entirely failing of creating consistent strategic focus for more than 48 hours at a time.

We convinced leadership to scrap their focus on “employee time planning” training and alternatively create what I call “Organizational Focus Clarity.”

Rather than working to show staff to organize within a constantly changing organization, we concentrated on creating actual company clarity:

Implemented a unified executive decision-making team with specific authority for setting and maintaining strategic focus

Implemented a formal project assessment system that occurred regularly rather than daily

Established written guidelines for when projects could be adjusted and what type of authorization was necessary for such modifications

Established enforced communication systems to make certain that all priority adjustments were communicated clearly and consistently across each teams

Established protection phases where absolutely no project disruptions were acceptable without exceptional justification

This transformation was instant and substantial:

Staff stress instances dropped substantially as staff for the first time knew what they were supposed to be concentrating on

Output increased by more than half within six weeks as workers could really focus on finishing projects rather than continuously changing between multiple priorities

Work delivery results improved significantly as teams could coordinate and complete tasks without daily changes and re-prioritization

External relationships got better dramatically as work were genuinely delivered as promised and to specification

That lesson: before you teach staff to prioritize, ensure your leadership really has consistent direction that are deserving of prioritizing.

This is another method that priority organization training fails in dysfunctional workplaces: by assuming that staff have genuine control over their time and priorities.

We consulted with a public sector organization where staff were constantly receiving reprimanded for “inadequate task management” and mandated to “productivity” training sessions.

The actual situation was that these employees had almost no authority over their work activities. Here’s what their typical schedule looked like:

Approximately three-fifths of their schedule was occupied by required conferences that they couldn’t decline, no matter of whether these meetings were useful to their core responsibilities

An additional 20% of their schedule was assigned to processing required reports and administrative tasks that provided zero usefulness to their actual work or to the citizens they were meant to serve

The leftover 20% of their time was meant to be dedicated for their core job – the tasks they were paid to do and that really was important to the organization

But even this tiny amount of time was regularly invaded by “emergency” requirements, unexpected calls, and bureaucratic demands that were not allowed to be delayed

Under these conditions, no amount of “priority planning” training was going to enable these workers get more efficient. The challenge wasn’t their individual priority planning techniques – it was an organizational system that made productive activity almost impossible.

I helped them implement organizational improvements to resolve the actual barriers to effectiveness:

Got rid of pointless conferences and created specific criteria for when gatherings were genuinely justified

Simplified paperwork requirements and eliminated unnecessary documentation requirements

Created dedicated blocks for actual work tasks that would not be interrupted by administrative tasks

Developed clear protocols for evaluating what qualified as a legitimate “urgent situation” versus standard tasks that could be scheduled for designated slots

Created workload sharing processes to make certain that tasks was distributed equitably and that zero single person was carrying excessive load with impossible responsibilities

Worker efficiency increased dramatically, professional satisfaction improved substantially, and their agency genuinely started offering improved results to the public they were supposed to support.

The crucial insight: organizations cannot solve efficiency problems by training employees to work more productively within dysfunctional organizations. You must fix the structures initially.

At this point let’s examine possibly the greatest ridiculous element of priority organization training in chaotic organizations: the idea that employees can somehow manage responsibilities when the management as a whole changes its priorities multiple times per month.

I worked with a technology startup where the executive leadership was famous for going through “game-changing” revelations several times per week and requiring the complete team to instantly pivot to accommodate each new direction.

Workers would come at work on Monday with a clear awareness of their objectives for the day, only to discover that the management had concluded over the weekend that everything they had been focusing on was not a priority and that they needed to instantly begin focusing on something totally different.

This cycle would happen several times per week. Work that had been announced as “critical” would be dropped halfway through, departments would be repeatedly re-assigned to new work, and significant portions of resources and work would be lost on projects that were not finished.

Their company had spent significantly in “adaptive work management” training and sophisticated project management systems to enable employees “respond quickly” to shifting priorities.

But absolutely no amount of skill development or tools could address the basic challenge: organizations cannot effectively organize constantly changing objectives. Constant shifting is the antithesis of successful organization.

The team helped them create what I call “Focused Direction Management”:

Implemented quarterly strategic assessment cycles where major priority changes could be evaluated and approved

Developed firm standards for what constituted a valid basis for adjusting established directions apart from the scheduled planning cycles

Implemented a “direction protection” time where absolutely no modifications to established objectives were permitted without exceptional justification

Created specific notification procedures for when objective modifications were genuinely necessary, with complete impact assessments of what work would be abandoned

Mandated formal approval from senior leaders before any substantial direction modifications could be enacted

The improvement was remarkable. After 90 days, real work success statistics increased by nearly three times. Worker frustration instances dropped significantly as employees could at last concentrate on completing work rather than repeatedly starting new ones.

Product development surprisingly increased because teams had enough opportunity to fully explore and refine their ideas rather than continuously changing to new projects before anything could be properly developed.

That lesson: effective prioritization requires directions that stay unchanged long enough for employees to really concentrate on them and achieve substantial outcomes.

Here’s what I’ve concluded after years in this field: priority management training is merely valuable in organizations that already have their organizational act working properly.

If your workplace has clear business direction, achievable workloads, competent leadership, and structures that support rather than prevent productive activity, then time organization training can be helpful.

But if your company is characterized by perpetual chaos, competing priorities, incompetent planning, impossible demands, and reactive decision-making approaches, then task planning training is more harmful than useless – it’s actively damaging because it faults personal behavior for leadership dysfunction.

Stop throwing away resources on priority planning training until you’ve fixed your organizational direction first.

Begin creating organizations with stable organizational direction, competent decision-making, and processes that really facilitate productive accomplishment.

Company staff will organize extremely effectively once you offer them direction deserving of focusing on and an organization that genuinely enables them in completing their jobs. overwhelmed with unsustainable demands

Employee efficiency increased dramatically, work fulfillment increased notably, and this department finally started providing improved services to the citizens they were meant to serve.

The key lesson: companies cannot address efficiency issues by showing individuals to work better successfully within chaotic structures. You must fix the structures first.

At this point let’s examine possibly the most absurd element of time organization training in poorly-run companies: the assumption that staff can somehow prioritize work when the organization as a whole changes its priorities several times per week.

I worked with a IT business where the executive leadership was famous for having “innovative” insights several times per period and demanding the whole organization to immediately pivot to implement each new direction.

Employees would come at work on Monday with a clear understanding of their objectives for the week, only to discover that the CEO had decided overnight that all priorities they had been working on was suddenly not relevant and that they should to right away start concentrating on an initiative completely unrelated.

That cycle would repeat several times per period. Initiatives that had been announced as “essential” would be dropped halfway through, teams would be continuously redirected to new work, and significant amounts of resources and investment would be squandered on projects that were never finished.

The company had poured heavily in “adaptive project management” training and complex task management systems to help workers “respond rapidly” to evolving directions.

However no degree of training or systems could address the core challenge: organizations cannot efficiently manage constantly evolving priorities. Continuous shifting is the opposite of good prioritization.

We worked with them implement what I call “Focused Priority Consistency”:

Created quarterly priority assessment cycles where major priority modifications could be discussed and approved

Established strict requirements for what represented a legitimate reason for changing agreed-upon directions outside the planned planning cycles

Implemented a “objective protection” time where no adjustments to current directions were allowed without emergency approval

Created clear communication protocols for when priority changes were really necessary, featuring complete impact assessments of what work would be interrupted

Established documented sign-off from several stakeholders before all substantial priority changes could be enacted

The transformation was outstanding. After three months, actual work delivery statistics improved by over dramatically. Staff burnout instances decreased significantly as employees could finally work on delivering tasks rather than repeatedly beginning new ones.

Innovation actually improved because groups had enough time to thoroughly explore and evaluate their solutions rather than continuously changing to new directions before any work could be adequately completed.

The reality: good prioritization requires priorities that remain consistent long enough for teams to really concentrate on them and achieve significant progress.

This is what I’ve concluded after decades in this field: priority organization training is merely useful in organizations that genuinely have their leadership act together.

When your workplace has clear business priorities, reasonable workloads, competent management, and systems that facilitate rather than prevent effective activity, then task organization training can be beneficial.

However if your workplace is defined by perpetual crisis management, conflicting priorities, inadequate organization, excessive expectations, and reactive decision-making styles, then time planning training is more counterproductive than ineffective – it’s directly damaging because it blames personal behavior for organizational dysfunction.

End throwing away resources on time organization training until you’ve fixed your systemic direction before anything else.

Begin establishing workplaces with clear strategic focus, functional decision-making, and structures that really support meaningful activity.

Your workers would organize perfectly fine once you offer them direction suitable for working toward and an organization that really facilitates them in accomplishing their work.

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