We often look for new opportunities to pursue, but asking what existing activities to stop can be just as impactful.
In today’s world we feel the pressure to do new things, do more things, and do it all faster. We have an additive mindset. That serves us well much of the time, but sole devotion to this approach misses opportunities to optimize our limited time and resources.
Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “What managers decide to stop doing is often more important than what they decide to do.” Doing things has a cost. It may be time, money, energy, motivation, political capital, risk, or other costs. Stopping something frees up the currency to be used elsewhere.
But how do you figure out what to stop? This question can be asked one of two ways: strategically or tactically.
Strategically it may make sense to stop some product, service, or project. This may be true even if it’s profitable. Looking at the ROI (return on investment) from the offering, you may discover a better ROI is possible if those resources were deployed elsewhere. It may be that your calculations were correct initially, but during the subsequent weeks or months things have changed. Outcomes, risks, or costs may have changed because the environment in which you operate has changed, or maybe you just have more information now that you’re down the path and can revise your projections. Either way, standard strategy approaches and financial analysis can help you determine your options.
Jack Welsh, the famous GE CEO, had a philosophy that every business unit had to be number one or number two in their category. If they were three or below, they needed a plan to become one or two, or otherwise the unit was sold off.
Even as an individual, you can ask this of yourself strategically. Many people doing a job, either an employee or solopreneur, began to question if it was worth it during the covid pandemic. Not just, “I don’t have time for this” but things like, “Do I still want this job, or even this career?” That’s a strategic decision. In some cases, they may have felt the industry changed (for example many professional speakers had a rough two years). In other cases, they had asked, “Am I still happy, especially given the structural changes in this field?” as many teachers and medical professionals did.
Tactically, this question can be asked of day-to-day activities. This could be anything from meetings, processes, tools, internal policies, or just customs and practices your organization has adopted. This is why it’s important to follow the parable of the five gorillas or drill down using the Five Why’s to best understand the benefit of the practice. If it no longer makes sense, it’s time for a change.
We can apply this personally, as well. It could be cutting out that morning muffin to save calories, or the hour of TV you watch when coming home to gain back time. More subtly, what if you only looked at your phone 3 times a day instead of every 30-60 minutes. Those social media posts will still be there two hours from now. This protects your flow state by stopping a distraction.
Looking for new opportunities, especially for those who run a P&L is key. The world changes and we can’t rely on what has worked in the past. But just as important as what new thing to explore, is to ask what existing thing to stop. That alone may be sufficient to grow your career or business.
It’s critical to learn about corporate culture before you accept a job offer but it can be awkward to raise such questions. Learn what to ask and how to ask it to avoid landing yourself in a bad situation.
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