If Everything Is a Priority, Nothing Is: The Leadership Skill of Saying 'No' to a Good Idea

According to a study by the Project Management Institute:

Teams focused on three or fewer critical objectives see a 23% higher success rate in project completion than teams managing six or more at once.

If your team has done the SWOT work from last week’s lesson (click HERE to review), it's time to start laying out our strategic work into a plan for 2026. Your tactical/technical teammates are probably scratching their heads right now, overwhelmed while looking at this huge checklist of things that need doing. They're wired to execute, and a long-term, detailed plan can feel delusional at best.

XM TRUTH: If everything is a priority, then nothing is.

Most owners struggle at this point because they fear saying "No" to a good idea. The solution? Break the big goals down into a simple Q1 plan that everyone can see and understand where they need to take action:

• Ask, “What Will it Take to Get There?”: Use insights from your Vision Story (“Where are we going?”) and SWOT (“Where are we now?”) to define the top three objectives for the quarter clearly. This discipline will prevent you from expending effort on lesser priorities until they strategically rise in importance over the year.
  

• Put Down, Don’t Throw Away: The simple act of putting boundaries on your growth is a leadership skill. Give yourself and your team explicit permission to neglect these lower priorities for the next 90 days. This isn't where dreams go to die; it’s where they get placed in a structured long-term plan.

Don’t let this be the moment your team gets stressed/burnt out by the mountain of strategic opportunities you could pursue (especially before you've even started). Simplifying your quarterly plan is the best way to ensure the time and resources you invested into Purpose, Values, Vision, and SWOT go where they should. Click HERE to download your Xtra Mile Quarterly Performance Dashboard tool and get your priorities in writing today.