In every business, knowing your Most Important Activities is crucial. During a coaching session with a team member, we explored what these key tasks were. As she shared her list of responsibilities, she grew increasingly overwhelmed. Despite the number of tasks on her plate, she felt like her boss didn’t truly value her contributions. She felt discouraged, as though the work she was doing wasn’t appreciated.
To tackle this, we broke it down. Instead of viewing her responsibilities as a mere list of tasks, we reframed the question: How do these activities impact the business’s revenue?
Connecting Your Most Important Activities to Revenue
While it may seem like it’s not entirely about the money, it really is. Businesses pay employees to perform tasks that ultimately support revenue generation. Some tasks directly generate income, while others support that goal. But every role in a company must be connected to revenue in some way. No boss can afford to dedicate time to tasks that don’t contribute to cash flow.
Initially, this insight left my team member feeling more discouraged. She didn’t handle billing or marketing directly, so she worried that her job might be at risk. However, I reassured her that, even if she didn’t directly affect revenue, it was essential to reexamine her tasks and identify ways to optimize them. In any conversation with a boss, it’s crucial to focus on how you can have a greater impact on business growth.
Analyzing How Your Most Crucial Activities Create Value
We dug deeper into her tasks to understand their impact. For example, we looked at the probate files that had been sitting for two years. These files frustrated her boss, but after analyzing the situation, we estimated over $30,000 in legal fees were waiting to be billed. This insight made the value of those tasks much clearer.
Next, we reviewed the delayed invoicing process that took up to a month. Due to inefficiency in time tracking, fees were sometimes reduced or even “comped.” We estimated that the delay caused the company to lose around $2,500 a month in revenue.
As we went through each task, we identified areas where her time could be spent more effectively, ensuring that her Most Important Activities were connected to generating revenue.
Prioritizing Tasks That Impact Revenue and Business Growth
While some activities were vital for enhancing the client experience, they needed to be optimized to avoid over-spending time on them. We explored ways to streamline these efforts to achieve the same results more efficiently.
We also found that some tasks, which she thought were critical, were not directly tied to business growth and were taking up valuable time. We discussed whether these activities could be eliminated or replaced by more revenue-driven initiatives.
It all comes down to revenue. Without it, client needs aren’t addressed, and there’s no room for extras. Keeping a clear focus on tasks connected to income ensures that your work and time have a measurable impact on the company’s success.
Communicating the Value of Your Most Crucial Activities
At the end of our session, I emphasized to my team member that she needed to communicate her insights with her boss. It was important for her to engage him in a discussion about how certain tasks, while often overlooked, were critical to revenue and business growth. She also needed to present ways to be more effective in executing these tasks.
Although she hesitated, recalling how she had previously been brushed off by her boss, I reminded her that her role was essential to the company’s financial health. “You’re not just important; you are valuable,” I said. “We’ve identified over $40,000 in potential revenue earned or saved based on your Most Important Activities. That’s value your boss needs to understand.”
She got the message, and so did her boss.
Unlock Your Value by Identifying Your Most Important Activities
If you’re unsure how to identify your Most Important Activities and connect them to your company’s revenue, consider our VIP Strategy Day. This session will help you understand how your activities contribute to revenue and support business growth, ensuring you can demonstrate the value you bring to your company.
Authorship Acknowledgment:
By Molly Hall McGrath
