2019-08-11_Business_Today

HOW THE BEST

CEOs GET THE

IMPORTANT

WORK DONE

Apply a 60/40 rule. Devote

60 per cent of your time

to “must-do” tasks, and 40

per cent on personal focus.

Spend your time wisely!

By James Allen

Illustration by Ajay Thakuri

IF YOU’RE A CHIEF executive officer, your job is

to execute. It’s written right into your title. But

what does it mean, in terms of daily tasks, to be

the company’s top “executer”? After all, CEOs

don’t actually build factories or sell products.

It’s tempting, therefore, to view the CEO as pri-

marily a thinker; someone who mulls and shapes

strategy. That is a part of the CEO’s job, of course.

But the best CEOs know that strategy is just theory

unless it’s actually translated into frontline routines

• unless the rest of the company actually is execut-
  ing the strategy.
  The CEO’s job is to make sure that happens.
  The best CEOs focus primarily on four things:
  communication, communication, communica-
  tion, and overseeing resource allocation to ensure
  that the priorities they’re communicating are actu-

August 11I 2019 I BUSINESS TODAYI 81