Top 10 Critical Issues Lists 9 Block Prioritization Tool Dana Meyer Consulting Supporting Leaders | Building Teams | Growing Business www.danameyerconsulting.com dana@danameyerconsulting.com 805-845-9448

How to get started… Use this worksheet to brainstorm your critical business or functional issues. These are the things that keep you up at night. Go through each step on the next slide to identify your Top 10 Critical Priority List. This will help you and your teams focus on the most important areas first. As a priority is completed, you can add a new Top 10 priority from the original brainstorm list. Leaders should use this tool as a living document and review it monthly or quarterly. Priorities shift in a business and this list can help a leadership team stay on the same page, making the best use of limited resources. NOTE: You can do this exercise once for the Top 10 business issues and again to identify the Top 10 functional issues.

Instructions: Step 1: Leader or team brainstorms critical issues that need to be resolved immediately. Take a minute to define what “critical and immediate” means to the group. Use the slide provided or a flipchart with sticky notes. Step 2: Team picks 2 criteria to rate critical issues against. Suggest using “level of urgency” against “impact to business.” Step 3: Team quickly rates each critical issue against the 2 criteria. Use a high, medium and low scale to plot. Avoid overthinking this part. Step 4: Facilitator copies/pastes each idea on to the 9 block slide based on rankings, or moves sticky notes to 9 block flipchart. If in doubt about where to put a critical issue relative to another, ask the team to increase buy-in. Step 5: Ask if the team is satisfied with the placements. Adjust if needed. Step 6: Vote or agree on which TOP 10 ISSUES are the best candidates to address. Step 7: For the winning TOP 10 ISSUES add in the “actions” and “timing” columns. Keep it simple. This is for preliminary planning purposes only. Step 8: Keep the remaining issues on a list. This makes it easy to select future priorities as space becomes available on the Top 10 list.

Brainstorm List of Critical Issues What needs to be addressed immediately? Step 1- Brainstorm Critical Issue’s Short Title: Brief explanation of what it means Step 2- Rank Impact on Business Success (High/ Med/Low) Step 3- Rank Level of Urgency (High/Med/ Low) Step 4- Sort by HML and Highlight the TOP 10 ISSUES in BLUE Step 5 – For Top 10 List Immediate Actions Needed & Timing Keep it brief. Timing Key Dates or Milestones Example Executive Hire: Canadian CEO in Ottawa H Contract with executive search firm. Assign an acting CEO. Need CEO before June 1. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Facilitator Note: Brainstorm list of ideas first. Determine the correct criteria to rank against in columns 2 and 3 (impact, effort ,ROI, urgency, etc.) Go back and have the team rank impact and level of urgency or effort required to achieve success. Use a high, medium and low scale.

Brainstorm List of Critical Issues What needs to be addressed immediately? Step 1- Brainstorm Critical Issue’s Short Title: Brief explanation of what it means Step 2- Rank Impact on Business Success (High/ Med/Low) Step 3- Rank Level of Urgency (High/Med/ Low) Step 4- Sort by HML and Highlight the TOP 10 ISSUES in BLUE Step 5 – For Top 10 List Immediate Actions Needed & Timing Keep it brief. Timing Key Dates or Milestones 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Facilitator Note: Brainstorm list of ideas first. Determine the correct criteria to rank against in columns 2 and 3 (impact, effort ,ROI, urgency, etc.) Go back and have the team rank impact and level of urgency or effort required to achieve success. Use a high, medium and low scale.

9 Block to Prioritize Critical Business Issues Urgency High Medium Low Example Executive Hire: Canadian CEO in Ottawa High Impact on Business Success Medium Low Facilitator Note: Plot ideas into the correct section of the chart. Next highlight in BLUE the critical TOP 10.

9 Block to Prioritize Critical Functional Issues Urgency High Medium Low High Impact on Business Success Medium Low Facilitator Note: Plot ideas into the correct section of the chart. Next highlight in BLUE the critical TOP 10.

Examples and Back Up

Example 1: Top Priority List Blue equals critical issues to work Resources Required to Successfully Implement High Moderate Low 5. Prioritize How Time is Spent 2. Consistent Cold Call Schedule Highest Impact 1. Workable Database 7. Due Diligence Materials / Files with Names and Essential Documents Impact on Financial Success Medium Impact 6. Document general process flow and checklists 4. Effective Team Communication Impact Low 3. Admin Support

Example 2: Employee Engagement Survey Results Which items to pick? Also think about level of effort required. Urgency High Medium Low Could be Gold – It’s high impact and urgent. What is the level of effort needed to achieve this HML? L or M = Make it happen H = Can we make it happen? Probably Worth the Effort Low Urgency but High Business Impact Why are we calling it low urgency if it’s high impact to the business? What is the level of effort needed to achieve this HML? L or M = Make it happen H = Probably not urgent enough at this time to take action. High Impact on Business Success Medium Low Facilitator Note: Copy and paste each brainstorm idea into the correct section of the chart.

Optional - Brainstorm 1 Potential “Game Changer” What would make a quantum difference? Brainstorm Idea Title: Brief explanation of what it means Impact on Business Success (High/ Med/Low) Effort to Successfully Implement (High/Med/ Low) Actions to Take / Who Milestones 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Facilitator Note: Brainstorm list of ideas first. Determine the correct criteria to rank against in columns 2 and 3 (impact, effort ,ROI, urgency, etc.) Go back and have the team rank impact and level of effort required to achieve success. Use a high, medium and low scale. Since this is a BONUS exercise, pick 1 top candidate for a “game changing” project.