我在2015年4月加入Bullhorn公司，負責客戶成功部門改革，這項挑戰包括讓不高興的客戶開心，提高部門的領導力，組建一支專注的團隊，帶來無與倫比的客戶體驗。雖然我很想立即解決所有問題，但我意識到這樣做不可能帶來成功。我清楚，自己不可能一次解決所有問題，我必須分清輕重緩急，從最重要的任務開始，稍后再去處理次要任務。

在需要進行大量改變的時候，不僅自己要清楚工作重點，也要將你的安排介紹給團隊的其他成員，使同事可以了解你的工作，這一點同樣重要。

分享需要優先解決的問題，與確定這些問題同等重要。如果周圍的人不了解你目前正在關注的問題以及背后的原因，他們就會向你提出自己眼中的優先任務，讓你不勝其煩，最終將你變成一個信號接收器，而不是一位高效的領導者或團隊成員。因此，你需要有一份明確的計劃。

一、對任務進行篩選，提出問題

尤其重要的是，了解今天和明天分別需要完成哪些任務，所以你必須采用一個關鍵的“過濾器”，區分現在與將來。你可以提出一些有關項目的恰當問題，尤其是在你不確定這些任務如何帶來直接客戶收入或價值的情況下。你需要提出一些有價值的問題，并尋找答案，例如“這個項目如何改善客戶的利潤？”或者“為什么這款可交付物對客戶的業務增長如此重要？”這樣一來，你便可以在正確的時間安排正確的任務。針對公司的具體情況，制定確定優先任務的基本原則。我在確定優先任務時堅持的一條基本原則是：只有能夠為客戶創造價值或為Bullhorn產生收入的任務，才是優先任務。

二、專注于背景和大局

在確定不需要現在處理的任務時，只要你清楚目前的首要任務，你便更容易理解說“不”的背景。在最開始，一定要明確特定任務的目的和目標，以及如何將它們納入到客戶的商業策略當中。了解任務與大局的關系，讓你可以選擇是立即進行處理，還是先放在一邊，特別是在十萬火急的緊要關頭。

三、保持開放和靈活

環境可能會改變，在這種情況下，你必須愿意將任務提前，或者把任務交給其他人。可能會有人提出一些你并未意識到的問題，所以當問題出現時，你應該愿意進行評估。

四、堅持反思和完善

我的非當下代辦事項清單從來都不是一成不變的：在完成當前客戶的可交付物之后，我會不斷對清單進行評估，重新確定優先任務。一項任務不需要在未來90天內完成，并不意味著就可以把它拋諸腦后，你應該時刻關注這些任務，在實現目標的同時，重新評估自己的總體策略。不斷反思可以保證我正在處理正確的任務，可以給客戶帶來最成功的結果。

學會說“不”給我帶來了巨大的幫助，以至于有一些同事也邀請我進行這方面的培訓。列出一份可稍后處理的任務清單，可以讓你明確當前需要完成的任務，讓人們負起責任，最重要的的是，可以帶來理想的成果。 （財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

I joined Bullhorn in April 2015 to take on the challenge of transforming the customer success organization, which included turning unhappy customers into happy ones, sharpening the department’s leadership, and creating an engaging team to deliver an incredible customer experience. As much as I wanted to tackle every issue immediately, I realized that wouldn’t result in success. Knowing I couldn’t complete everything at once, I needed to prioritize and start with the most important tasks, and approach the secondary ones later.

When a huge volume of change is required, it’s important to not only know what’s priority, but to share those priorities with the rest of your organization so your colleagues understand what you’re working on.

Sharing your priorities is as important as having them. Unless people around you understand what you’re focusing on and why, they’ll bombard you with what they view as priorities, rendering you more of a signal receiver than an effective leader or team member. That’s where having a clear plan comes in hand.

Filter tasks and ask questions

It’s extremely important to know what needs to be done today vs. tomorrow, so you need to apply a critical filter to separate now and later. You can do this by asking the right questions about projects, especially if you’re unsure how those tasks will generate immediate client revenue or value. Getting answers to valuable questions, such as, “How will this project improve my client’s bottom line?” or, “Why is this deliverable important for my customer’s business growth?” will ensure that you’re working on the right assignments at the right time. Have a general rule of prioritization that works for your business. One of my general rules to help with prioritization: The task was only a priority if it created value for a client or generated revenue for Bullhorn.

Focus on the context and big picture

When deciding if tasks should land on the not-now list, it’s easier to understand the context of “no” if you understand your current priorities. At the onset, be sure to clearly define objectives and goals for certain tasks and how they fit into your client’s business strategy. Knowing how assignments fit into the bigger picture allows you to either urgently jump on them or place them to the side, especially when those fire-drill requests occur.

Remain open and agile

It’s possible that the environment changes, and if it does, you should be willing to move stuff forward or push it out. Someone may come to you with something that you weren’t aware of, so be willing to evaluate issues as they arise.

Reflect and refine all the time

My not-now list is never stagnant: I’m constantly reviewing and reprioritizing it after completing current client deliverables. This doesn’t mean that if you don’t need to complete a task within the next 90 days that it’s thrown into an abyss—it just means that you should keep it on the horizon and reassess your overall strategy as you meet your goals. Constant reflection ensures that I’m working on the correct initiatives that’ll deliver the most successful client results.

Learning to say “no” has worked so well for me that some of my colleagues have asked me to help train them to do the same. Keeping a list of what can be tackled later on will allow you to clearly see what needs completion right now, hold people accountable, and, most importantly, deliver results.