Tasks vs. Key Results

“Life favors the specific ask and punishes the vague wish.” - Tim Ferriss

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

Excellent advice from the book Tribe of Mentors that is the culmination of hundreds of interviews over years with the highest performers from across multiple industries.  

Leadership Tools: Task vs Key Result.

This advice can be applied to the hiring and management process:  

  • Build very clear job descriptions around specific Key Results that you need to achieve instead of a list of vague tasks.  
  • Will you be able to tell if the team member is achieving the Key Results or not?  
  • Assuming the Key Results are achieved by the team member; will they have a quantifiably positive impact on the business? 
  • Build a detailed Interview Guide prepared for the position with specific questions defined for each of the Key Results so you can identify the best candidate for the position?  
  • Consider the impact if this specific use of language permeated your whole organization.  “Go to the second floor and install lights.” vs. “There are 3 conference rooms on the second floor.  Please have them all of them lit and ready for inspection by 2PM today. The inspector will meet you there at 2:30 and we need them signed off.”  Which Foreman would you rather have laying out your crews?   

Coaching construction teams to think and communicate with this level of clarity is something we love working on




Two Critical Things Every Business Must Do
The business of construction is both challenging and exciting, with days full of risks and rewards. Jack Stack calls it “The Great Game of Business,” where he describes how to create a culture of ownership.
Project Cash Metric and Cash vs. Margin Variance
Contracting is a very capital-intensive business and it is critical to constantly be watching cash flow performance. This metric is the highest level of an “OUTCOME” for cash flow at the project level, summarizing the performance of ops and accounting.
Our Principles for Creating Value in Careers, Projects, and Contracting
“As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The person who grasps principles can successfully select their own methods. The person who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.” - Harrington Emmerson