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How Time Planning Training Is Useless in Poorly-Run Organizations
Quit Teaching People to "Prioritize" When Your Company Has No Clue What Actually Should Be Priority: Why Priority Planning Training Doesn't Work in Dysfunctional Companies
I'm ready to dismantle one of the greatest widespread misconceptions in corporate training: the assumption that showing workers more effective "prioritization" skills will resolve productivity challenges in workplaces that have absolutely no coherent strategic focus themselves.
Following extensive experience of training with companies on productivity challenges, I can tell you that time organization training in a chaotic workplace is like teaching someone to arrange their possessions while their house is actively burning down around them.
Let me share the basic issue: the majority of businesses experiencing from time management issues do not have efficiency issues - they have management problems.
Traditional task planning training assumes that organizations have well-defined, stable objectives that staff can be taught to identify and concentrate on. That belief is completely separated from actual workplace conditions in the majority of current organizations.
We consulted with a major communications agency where workers were constantly complaining about being "struggling to prioritize their responsibilities successfully." Management had poured enormous amounts on task planning training for every staff.
The training covered all the usual techniques: priority matrices, priority ranking systems, schedule organization strategies, and sophisticated task tracking software.
Yet performance continued to drop, employee overwhelm levels rose, and project delivery results got more unreliable, not more efficient.
Once I investigated what was genuinely going on, I found the actual problem: the agency as a whole had no stable strategic focus.
Let me share what the normal experience looked like for workers:
Regularly: Executive leadership would announce that Client A was the "most critical priority" and all staff needed to focus on it as soon as possible
The next day: A another senior manager would send an "immediate" email declaring that Client B was really the "highest critical" priority
Wednesday: A third division manager would organize an "urgent" meeting to announce that Client C was a "must-have" requirement that needed to be completed by Friday
Thursday: The initial executive executive would show anger that Client A hadn't been completed as expected and require to know why people were not "focusing on" it properly
By week's end: Every three initiatives would be behind, several deliverables would be missed, and staff would be held responsible for "inadequate priority management techniques"
That scenario was repeated continuously after week, regularly after month. Zero degree of "task organization" training was able to enable staff handle this organizational dysfunction.
Their fundamental issue wasn't that employees couldn't know how to manage tasks - it was that the company as a whole was totally failing of establishing consistent strategic focus for more than 72 hours at a time.
I persuaded management to eliminate their focus on "personal task organization" training and rather implement what I call "Strategic Direction Clarity."
Instead of attempting to train employees to manage within a dysfunctional environment, we concentrated on establishing real organizational clarity:
Created a central senior management group with clear authority for establishing and maintaining strategic focus
Created a structured priority review procedure that happened monthly rather than daily
Created specific guidelines for when priorities could be changed and what level of authorization was required for such changes
Established mandatory notification protocols to guarantee that all focus adjustments were communicated explicitly and uniformly across each departments
Implemented stability times where absolutely no priority changes were acceptable without emergency approval
The improvement was remarkable and outstanding:
Staff stress rates fell dramatically as staff at last knew what they were required to be working on
Productivity rose by nearly significantly within six weeks as employees could really focus on completing tasks rather than continuously redirecting between conflicting requests
Work quality schedules improved substantially as teams could plan and deliver work without daily disruptions and modifications
Customer happiness got better dramatically as work were genuinely completed as promised and to standards
The lesson: instead of you train people to prioritize, make sure your organization genuinely has clear priorities that are deserving of prioritizing.
Here's a different way that task planning training doesn't work in dysfunctional organizations: by assuming that workers have genuine authority over their work and priorities.
The team consulted with a government agency where employees were constantly getting blamed for "poor priority organization" and required to "efficiency" training sessions.
This reality was that these workers had virtually no control over their daily time. This is what their typical workday looked like:
About 60% of their workday was consumed by compulsory sessions that they were not allowed to avoid, irrespective of whether these meetings were relevant to their actual job
Another one-fifth of their workday was allocated to completing required reports and administrative obligations that added zero benefit to their actual responsibilities or to the citizens they were meant to assist
This leftover small portion of their workday was meant to be dedicated for their core work - the activities they were paid to do and that actually was important to the organization
However even this tiny fraction of time was continuously interrupted by "immediate" demands, unplanned calls, and bureaucratic requirements that were not allowed to be delayed
Given these conditions, no level of "task management" training was going to assist these staff become more effective. This issue wasn't their individual task organization techniques - it was an systemic structure that ensured productive activity essentially unachievable.
I worked with them create systematic improvements to resolve the underlying impediments to productivity:
Removed unnecessary sessions and implemented specific requirements for when meetings were actually necessary
Streamlined bureaucratic obligations and eliminated redundant documentation requirements
Established reserved periods for real work responsibilities that couldn't be invaded by non-essential demands
Created specific systems for evaluating what represented a genuine "immediate priority" versus normal tasks that could be planned for appropriate times
Created task distribution approaches to guarantee that responsibilities was distributed fairly and that no individual was overwhelmed with unsustainable demands
Staff productivity improved dramatically, work satisfaction got better substantially, and their organization finally commenced offering higher quality results to the public they were intended to support.
That crucial lesson: you cannot solve time management problems by training people to work better successfully within dysfunctional systems. Companies have to repair the systems initially.
Currently let's examine perhaps the greatest laughable component of task management training in poorly-run organizations: the belief that staff can magically manage work when the company as a whole changes its priorities numerous times per week.
We consulted with a IT startup where the founder was notorious for experiencing "innovative" insights several times per day and requiring the whole team to right away redirect to accommodate each new idea.
Staff would come at the office on Monday with a defined understanding of their objectives for the week, only to find that the management had determined suddenly that all priorities they had been focusing on was no longer a priority and that they must to right away begin concentrating on something entirely unrelated.
Such cycle would repeat multiple times per month. Projects that had been stated as "highest priority" would be abandoned mid-stream, teams would be continuously redirected to different initiatives, and massive amounts of time and investment would be squandered on work that were ultimately not finished.
Their startup had spent heavily in "flexible task planning" training and complex project management software to help workers "adapt rapidly" to evolving directions.
However absolutely no amount of training or systems could overcome the basic problem: organizations won't be able to effectively organize constantly shifting objectives. Constant shifting is the opposite of successful planning.
We helped them create what I call "Focused Priority Stability":
Implemented quarterly strategic review periods where important priority changes could be discussed and adopted
Created firm requirements for what constituted a genuine justification for modifying established directions beyond the regular planning periods
Implemented a "objective stability" period where absolutely no changes to current directions were permitted without extraordinary justification
Established clear notification systems for when objective modifications were absolutely essential, with complete consequence analyses of what projects would be abandoned
Mandated formal approval from several stakeholders before each major direction changes could be approved
The transformation was dramatic. In 90 days, measurable initiative success percentages improved by more than three times. Employee burnout instances dropped significantly as employees could at last work on delivering tasks rather than constantly beginning new ones.
Innovation remarkably got better because teams had sufficient opportunity to completely explore and evaluate their solutions rather than repeatedly changing to new directions before any project could be fully finished.
That lesson: effective prioritization needs directions that remain unchanged long enough for teams to really focus on them and achieve significant progress.
Here's what I've discovered after decades in this field: priority organization training is merely useful in companies that already have their strategic priorities together.
If your organization has consistent strategic priorities, achievable expectations, functional decision-making, and processes that support rather than prevent productive activity, then time organization training can be useful.
However if your workplace is marked by perpetual chaos, competing directions, poor coordination, impossible workloads, and emergency decision-making styles, then time organization training is more counterproductive than useless - it's actively damaging because it blames personal behavior for systemic failures.
End wasting resources on priority planning training until you've addressed your organizational priorities before anything else.
Start establishing organizations with clear strategic focus, functional management, and processes that actually enable efficient work.
Company staff can prioritize just effectively once you offer them priorities deserving of focusing on and an workplace that really facilitates them in accomplishing their responsibilities. overburdened with unrealistic workloads
Employee productivity increased dramatically, job satisfaction improved notably, and the agency genuinely started providing better outcomes to the public they were intended to support.
This key insight: organizations can't solve productivity challenges by training individuals to work more effectively efficiently within dysfunctional structures. Companies have to repair the systems before anything else.
Currently let's address possibly the greatest absurd element of priority planning training in dysfunctional companies: the idea that staff can somehow manage work when the organization itself modifies its direction numerous times per day.
The team consulted with a IT company where the executive leadership was notorious for having "innovative" revelations numerous times per period and demanding the entire organization to right away shift to pursue each new direction.
Employees would come at the office on any given day with a clear understanding of their priorities for the day, only to learn that the management had determined overnight that all work they had been working on was suddenly not relevant and that they needed to immediately start focusing on an initiative totally unrelated.
That behavior would occur several times per month. Initiatives that had been stated as "critical" would be dropped halfway through, groups would be constantly moved to different work, and significant amounts of time and work would be lost on initiatives that were ultimately not delivered.
This company had spent heavily in "adaptive task organization" training and sophisticated task organization software to enable employees "adapt efficiently" to shifting directions.
But absolutely no degree of education or tools could address the basic problem: you won't be able to successfully organize constantly evolving objectives. Continuous change is the opposite of effective organization.
We helped them establish what I call "Disciplined Objective Consistency":
Created quarterly planning planning sessions where important strategy adjustments could be evaluated and approved
Established clear criteria for what qualified as a genuine reason for adjusting agreed-upon directions beyond the scheduled review sessions
Implemented a "priority protection" phase where absolutely no adjustments to current priorities were allowed without exceptional approval
Implemented defined notification protocols for when objective changes were really necessary, including thorough cost analyses of what work would be delayed
Mandated documented approval from senior decision-makers before each substantial strategy shifts could be implemented
The change was remarkable. Within three months, actual initiative success percentages improved by more than three times. Employee frustration rates fell significantly as staff could actually work on delivering projects rather than continuously beginning new ones.
Innovation surprisingly got better because departments had enough resources to completely implement and evaluate their solutions rather than constantly switching to new projects before anything could be fully developed.
This point: good prioritization demands objectives that keep unchanged long enough for employees to genuinely work on them and complete meaningful results.
This is what I've learned after decades in this field: priority planning training is exclusively valuable in workplaces that already have their strategic priorities working properly.
If your workplace has clear strategic objectives, realistic workloads, functional leadership, and systems that facilitate rather than prevent productive work, then task organization training can be beneficial.
Yet if your organization is characterized by continuous chaos, conflicting priorities, inadequate planning, unrealistic demands, and crisis-driven decision-making approaches, then time organization training is more counterproductive than ineffective - it's systematically harmful because it faults employee choices for organizational failures.
End squandering money on priority management training until you've addressed your systemic dysfunction first.
Start creating companies with clear strategic direction, effective leadership, and systems that genuinely facilitate meaningful work.
The workers will organize just fine once you offer them direction deserving of focusing on and an workplace that actually enables them in accomplishing their work.
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