What do you do if your strategy-driven project has too many tasks to prioritize effectively?

By assessing urgency and categorizing tasks based on their deadlines, you can create a clear hierarchy that guides your focus and ensures that time-sensitive tasks receive the attention they require without neglecting long-term goals. My recommendation to approach this would be to - 1. Identify the critical milestones/deadlines 2. Identify the dependent consequences 3. Weight their time sensitivity 4. Balance urgency & importance 5. Communicate Expectations 6. Allocate resources wisely 7. Create a review mechanism

The first categorization is whether that task needs to be performed at all. This elimination process is critical. It applies to automation and technology projects. We don't want to automate something that shouldn't be done in the first place.

To answer this, the Eisenhower matrix is an already existing and widely recognized framework to map tasks according to their urgency and importance. It suggests to take action immediately on those tasks that have both high importance and high urgency and to delegate tasks that are urgent but not important. If the mountain of tasks is overwhelming and cannot be done/delegated as initially planned, then being transparent and setting and assessing stakeholder expectations as early as possible is important, will allow others to plan and mitigate accordingly.

To prioritise effectively: - Decide what matters the most - Utilise the Eisenhower Matrix. Classify tasks based on urgency (needs immediate attention) and importance (aligns with strategic goals). Urgency > Importance always. - Leverage the MoSCoW Method (Must-Haves, Should-Haves, Could-Haves & Won't-Haves) and prioritise based on value - Use the Effort-Impact Matrix to assess tasks. High-impact, low-effort tasks are ideal, while high-effort, low-impact tasks might be reconsidered. - Break down large tasks into manageable ones - Communicate clearly - Set realistic deadlines - Flexibility to pivot - Delegate or outsource tasks - Time management - Avoid distractions Hope this helps!

Strategy is not a To-Do list. As Rumelt argues, “Strategy is HOW you overcome the obstacles that stand between where you are...and what you want to achieve.” By its very nature, strategy shouldn’t be populated with too many priorities. It should have a single priority—moving from A to B by doing C and not doing D. If not, then the strategy is far too complex and needs to be recast.

If priorities are hard to set, it pays to go back to the drawing board and sharpen the overall vision, review your northstar KPI and the milestones you have set. With those guidelines set and clearly verbalized, it is mich easier to really decide what is a mistake have and what is a nice to have.

When prioritizing tasks, consider the following questions: How does this task contribute to our project's key objectives? What impact will completing this task have on our overall strategy? Is this task essential for achieving our desired outcomes?

Make it simple !!! ... When tasks feel overwhelming, simplify them by breaking them into smaller, more manageable pieces. This makes them easier to handle and helps your team stay focused and motivated as they see progress.

Any task should be contributing directly to getting closer to one of the goals. Understand how OKRs - Objectives and Key Results work and structure your tasks to address the objectives and reach key results. Try to define / break down tasks such that they can generate progress within 2 weeks. If the progress is only possible further down the road, find other tasks or break them down further. In order to build motivation, it is necessary to experience progress. This positive experience will create the motivation to go on and advance the project.

Identify the Big Picture: Start by understanding the overarching goal or objective of the complex task. What needs to be achieved? Divide and Conquer: Break down the task into smaller, more achievable sub-tasks or milestones. Each sub-task should represent a specific action or deliverable that contributes to the larger goal. Prioritize Sub-Tasks: Once you have a list of smaller tasks, prioritize them based on urgency and importance. Focus on completing high-priority items first to maintain momentum. Set Clear Deadlines: Assign realistic deadlines to each sub-task to create a sense of accountability and track progress effectively.

Delegation works best if the objectives are very clear. Also, it is necessary to clarify what is measured and when. Once this clarity is reached, delegates should get the responsibility and liberty to reach the results independently. Regular status meetings can help to supervise project development and to support the needs of team members working on the execution.

Utilize project management tools and techniques to organize tasks, track progress, and collaborate effectively with team members. Tools like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and task management software can streamline prioritization efforts.

A simple and effective approach is the Eisenhower matrix (Urgency, Importance) which helps to categorize into 4 priorities where the low urgency/low importance category is key as those tasks should/could be dismissed

Something that must be reconsidered first is that when there are differences in understanding at a cultural or linguistic level, efforts must be to unite them by co-creating a unique and distinct new common culture involving everyone. What follows next is resharing of the strategy with clear explanation of the critical decisions, assumptions, and uncertainties & create a centralised source of information that has constant and proactive sharing of the successes as well as challenges. Communication must systematic, flexible & sequential with different stakeholder groups. It should also be sensitive to time ie in different moments and also to stimuli within and outside the organization.

Strategy by definition is a child of constraints - you don’t need it if every resource including time is in abundance. Too many priority tasks hints either at poor problem definition (broad, generic and all inclusive) or poor resource planning (scale of project). Eventually strategy execution is domain of complete organisation for it to be effective and not just leadership or select teams. Prioritisation tools like Eisenhower matrix are useful but more from tasks management perspective rather than project management. Strategy execution document should ideally be the priority and responsibility defining tool.

Considering agile methodologies like working in sprints and avoiding multi-tasking can help to get the work done in an efficient and satisfying way