End Teaching People to “Organize” When Your Business Has No Idea What Genuinely Should Be Priority: Why Time Organization Training Fails in Poorly-Run Workplaces
I’m ready to destroy one of the biggest popular false beliefs in organizational training: the assumption that teaching workers more effective “prioritization” methods will solve productivity problems in workplaces that have no coherent direction themselves.
Following seventeen years of training with businesses on time management issues, I can tell you that priority planning training in a poorly-run workplace is like teaching someone to arrange their items while their building is currently burning down around them.
Let me share the basic issue: the majority of businesses experiencing from time management crises do not have efficiency challenges – they have organizational dysfunction.
Traditional time planning training presupposes that workplaces have well-defined, unchanging objectives that employees can learn to identify and concentrate on. This idea is completely disconnected from reality in nearly all modern companies.
The team consulted with a major marketing agency where staff were continuously expressing frustration about being “struggling to manage their tasks effectively.” Leadership had spent massive sums on priority planning training for each staff.
This training covered all the standard methods: Eisenhower systems, task ranking methods, calendar management methods, and complex work management systems.
However productivity remained to decline, staff frustration levels increased, and work delivery schedules got worse, not improved.
Once I analyzed what was really happening, I found the actual issue: the company itself had absolutely no stable priorities.
Here’s what the daily situation looked like for staff:
Monday: Executive management would communicate that Initiative A was the “most critical priority” and everyone must to focus on it right away
Tuesday: A another executive leader would announce an “immediate” email insisting that Initiative B was now the “most important” objective
Day three: A third team head would call an “emergency” session to communicate that Initiative C was a “essential” requirement that required to be delivered by immediately
Day four: The original top manager would show frustration that Project A hadn’t progressed as expected and demand to know why people were not “focusing on” it as instructed
By week’s end: Every three initiatives would be incomplete, various deliverables would be not met, and employees would be criticized for “poor time organization skills”
This cycle was repeated constantly after week, regularly after month. Zero level of “priority organization” training was going to enable workers navigate this management insanity.
Their core problem wasn’t that staff did not learn how to manage tasks – it was that the organization itself was completely failing of creating stable direction for more than 72 hours at a time.
We persuaded executives to abandon their focus on “employee time organization” training and instead implement what I call “Strategic Priority Clarity.”
Rather than attempting to teach employees to manage within a chaotic environment, we worked on creating actual organizational direction:
Created a single leadership management group with clear power for determining and preserving company focus
Established a systematic initiative review system that took place regularly rather than daily
Established written guidelines for when priorities could be changed and what type of approval was needed for such adjustments
Established required coordination systems to make certain that any project changes were communicated explicitly and uniformly across each levels
Implemented protection phases where absolutely no focus disruptions were acceptable without exceptional approval
This change was instant and outstanding:
Worker overwhelm instances dropped significantly as people finally knew what they were required to be focusing on
Output rose by over significantly within a month and a half as staff could actually focus on completing work rather than constantly switching between conflicting demands
Client completion times got better significantly as departments could plan and execute work without continuous disruptions and redirection
External satisfaction improved dramatically as projects were consistently finished as promised and to requirements
That point: instead of you show employees to manage tasks, guarantee your leadership really maintains clear strategic focus that are worth working toward.
This is one more method that task planning training fails in poorly-run companies: by presupposing that employees have real authority over their work and priorities.
We consulted with a municipal organization where employees were continuously receiving criticized for “ineffective priority organization” and required to “efficiency” training courses.
The truth was that these workers had essentially no control over their work schedules. Here’s what their typical schedule appeared like:
About three-fifths of their workday was taken up by compulsory sessions that they had no option to avoid, no matter of whether these conferences were relevant to their core job
A further 20% of their workday was assigned to filling out mandatory reports and administrative obligations that added absolutely no value to their real job or to the citizens they were intended to serve
This final one-fifth of their time was meant to be allocated for their actual responsibilities – the activities they were paid to do and that genuinely made a difference to the agency
But even this tiny portion of availability was regularly disrupted by “urgent” requirements, unplanned meetings, and management obligations that couldn’t be delayed
Given these circumstances, zero amount of “task management” training was going to help these workers become more efficient. This problem wasn’t their individual time planning abilities – it was an institutional system that made productive activity essentially unachievable.
We helped them implement systematic changes to address the underlying obstacles to effectiveness:
Eliminated redundant conferences and established specific criteria for when meetings were really necessary
Reduced paperwork obligations and removed unnecessary form-filling procedures
Implemented reserved time for core job activities that were not allowed to be interrupted by meetings
Established defined protocols for deciding what constituted a genuine “urgent situation” versus standard requests that could wait for scheduled periods
Created task distribution systems to make certain that tasks was allocated equitably and that zero individual was overburdened with unsustainable workloads
Employee efficiency increased significantly, job satisfaction increased considerably, and this organization genuinely started providing higher quality results to the citizens they were meant to serve.
This crucial insight: you won’t be able to solve time management problems by teaching individuals to function more successfully within broken systems. You have to improve the structures first.
Now let’s examine perhaps the greatest absurd component of time management training in chaotic companies: the assumption that staff can mysteriously prioritize responsibilities when the management itself shifts its priorities several times per week.
I consulted with a IT company where the founder was famous for experiencing “innovative” insights multiple times per week and expecting the whole team to immediately shift to accommodate each new priority.
Staff would come at their jobs on any given day with a specific knowledge of their priorities for the day, only to discover that the CEO had concluded overnight that all work they had been focusing on was no longer a priority and that they should to instantly start working on a project totally different.
This behavior would happen multiple times per month. Work that had been announced as “highest priority” would be forgotten mid-stream, groups would be continuously moved to different initiatives, and massive quantities of effort and work would be lost on initiatives that were not finished.
This startup had poured significantly in “agile task organization” training and sophisticated priority management systems to enable workers “adjust quickly” to evolving priorities.
But no degree of skill development or tools could address the fundamental issue: organizations won’t be able to successfully organize constantly evolving priorities. Continuous shifting is the enemy of successful prioritization.
I helped them establish what I call “Focused Priority Stability”:
Implemented scheduled planning review cycles where significant direction adjustments could be discussed and implemented
Established firm criteria for what represented a valid reason for adjusting established objectives beyond the regular review periods
Established a “objective stability” period where absolutely no changes to current priorities were allowed without emergency justification
Created clear coordination procedures for when direction modifications were absolutely essential, including full consequence assessments of what projects would be delayed
Required documented sign-off from multiple stakeholders before any substantial strategy modifications could be enacted
This change was remarkable. After a quarter, actual initiative success statistics improved by nearly three times. Worker frustration rates dropped significantly as employees could actually focus on completing tasks rather than continuously initiating new ones.
Innovation surprisingly increased because departments had sufficient opportunity to thoroughly implement and test their solutions rather than repeatedly switching to new projects before any work could be properly finished.
That point: good planning requires directions that remain unchanged long enough for teams to genuinely concentrate on them and achieve meaningful progress.
Let me share what I’ve learned after decades in this business: time planning training is exclusively useful in organizations that currently have their leadership priorities working properly.
When your organization has consistent organizational direction, achievable workloads, effective management, and structures that facilitate rather than prevent efficient performance, then priority management training can be helpful.
But if your organization is defined by perpetual dysfunction, unclear directions, incompetent coordination, excessive workloads, and reactive decision-making approaches, then time organization training is more counterproductive than useless – it’s directly harmful because it faults personal behavior for leadership dysfunction.
Quit squandering money on task organization training until you’ve resolved your leadership direction initially.
Start building workplaces with consistent organizational priorities, competent leadership, and structures that actually support meaningful accomplishment.
The employees will organize extremely effectively once you give them direction worth focusing on and an organization that actually supports them in accomplishing their jobs. overburdened with unrealistic demands
Worker efficiency improved dramatically, professional happiness improved considerably, and their department genuinely started providing better results to the citizens they were intended to support.
This key lesson: organizations can’t fix efficiency challenges by training employees to work more productively within chaotic systems. Organizations have to repair the organizations initially.
Now let’s address probably the biggest ridiculous component of task management training in dysfunctional workplaces: the assumption that staff can somehow manage work when the management at leadership level modifies its priorities numerous times per week.
We consulted with a IT business where the executive leadership was famous for experiencing “innovative” insights numerous times per day and requiring the whole organization to instantly shift to accommodate each new direction.
Workers would show up at their jobs on regularly with a specific understanding of their priorities for the period, only to find that the leadership had determined suddenly that all priorities they had been concentrating on was no longer a priority and that they needed to right away start focusing on an initiative totally different.
Such cycle would happen multiple times per month. Projects that had been declared as “essential” would be abandoned before completion, departments would be repeatedly moved to different projects, and massive quantities of effort and energy would be squandered on work that were ultimately not finished.
The company had invested significantly in “flexible work management” training and sophisticated task tracking software to assist workers “adjust efficiently” to shifting priorities.
Yet zero amount of skill development or tools could address the fundamental challenge: you can’t successfully organize perpetually changing priorities. Perpetual shifting is the antithesis of effective planning.
We assisted them establish what I call “Disciplined Priority Management”:
Established regular planning planning periods where major priority changes could be discussed and implemented
Developed firm requirements for what constituted a legitimate justification for modifying set objectives outside the regular assessment periods
Created a “objective protection” period where no modifications to set directions were allowed without emergency approval
Created specific communication systems for when priority changes were genuinely essential, including complete consequence evaluations of what initiatives would be delayed
Required documented sign-off from senior leaders before any significant priority modifications could be approved
Their change was dramatic. In 90 days, real project delivery statistics improved by more than three times. Staff frustration rates decreased considerably as staff could actually concentrate on delivering work rather than constantly initiating new ones.
Creativity surprisingly improved because teams had sufficient time to thoroughly implement and test their concepts rather than repeatedly moving to new initiatives before any work could be fully finished.
This lesson: good organization needs priorities that stay stable long enough for teams to really work on them and accomplish substantial results.
This is what I’ve concluded after extensive time in this industry: priority management training is merely useful in organizations that already have their organizational priorities working properly.
When your workplace has clear organizational direction, realistic expectations, competent management, and structures that enable rather than prevent productive work, then priority management training can be helpful.
But if your company is defined by continuous chaos, unclear priorities, inadequate coordination, excessive demands, and emergency decision-making cultures, then time planning training is more counterproductive than ineffective – it’s actively destructive because it faults employee behavior for leadership incompetence.
Stop wasting resources on time management training until you’ve addressed your systemic priorities before anything else.
Start creating workplaces with consistent organizational focus, competent decision-making, and structures that genuinely facilitate meaningful work.
Company staff would prioritize perfectly effectively once you offer them priorities suitable for focusing on and an workplace that actually enables them in doing their jobs.
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