Some decisions in business can be made based on intuition and emotion. Still, the more risk we have to manage or the bigger our ambition, the more critical it is to make decisions intelligently. When we have to solve a big problem, one of the rational ways is to divide it into small parts and deal with each of them separately. When we have a mattering list of things to prioritize, it’s beneficial to look at it from different perspectives, evaluate it by several criteria while respecting common knowledge and your values, and then combine the results into calculated conclusive priorities.
“1st things 1st” is an innovative online tool to do that easily without struggle nor paralysis by analysis. In this article, you will grasp how you can use it to advance your business. With “1st things 1st,” you evaluate anything by multiple criteria and get your priorities calculated, sorted, and grouped into those “to choose for sure,” those “to consider,” and those “to skip, eliminate, or outsource.” Let’s look at 10 examples, how you can benefit from this tool in your business.
1. Weekly Planning
When you consider prioritizing, you usually think about weekly or daily tasks. Spending 20-30 minutes every Sunday to plan what needs to be done for the next week is an advisable habit to have.
Using “1st things 1st”, before anything else, you would define your task criteria, like:
- How urgent is it?
- How important is it?
- Is it unavoidable?
- How manageable is it to accomplish?
- How impactful is it?
- Is it ethically, socially, ecologically responsible?
- Does it make money or reduce costs?
- Does it make your clients happy?
- Does it bring new customers?
- Does it remove bottlenecks in your business processes?
- Does it motivate you?
- Does it support your company’s goals?
- etc.
Then you would enter your TODO list and evaluate your tasks by your defined criteria.
The online tool would calculate and sort your tasks by your priorities.
If you are using the Premium account, you can also enter time estimations and budget for each task and see how many tasks you can afford to get done that week.
2. Setting Quantitative Goals
But as you know, doing work without having goals is like traveling without a map: it might quickly use up all your resources, and nothing much will be achieved on the way. Businesses should have goals, and these can also be prioritized. It’s recommended to have SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-phased.
To prioritize goals with “1st things 1st”, you would define your goal criteria, like:
- How specific is it?
- How measurable is it?
- How attainable is it?
- How realistic is it?
- How time-phased is it?
- How ethical is it?
- How environmentally sound is it?
- How relevant is it for your business?
- How challenging is it?
- Is it legal?
- and so on…
Then you would enter your list of goal candidates and evaluate them.
Your goals will get sorted by your priorities. It is recommended to use no more than 3–7 goals to pursue.
If you are using the Premium account, you can also enter time estimations and budget for each goal and see how many goals you can afford to achieve in a period.
3. Choosing Strategic Outcome-oriented Goals
Your business can focus on one of many strategic business goals. For example, you could aim to get more profit, provide the most value, have the happiest clients, increase recycling, improve a particular skill, or maybe make your workplace the best place to work at. The list could go on. But how could you prioritize it?
You would start prioritizing with “1st things 1st” by defining questions about each of your goals, like these:
- How much does it support your mission and vision?
- How much does it support your core values?
- How much does it optimize your strengths?
- How much does it compensate for or eliminate your weaknesses?
- How much does it help you plan ahead for deadlines?
- How much does it help you allocate job roles?
- How much does it help you stay on track for your project goals?
- How much does it maximize efficiency?
- How much does it help you allocate resources?
- How much measurable is it?
- and others…
Then you would list your goal candidates, for example:
- Ensure financial sustainability
- Maintain profitability
- Grow sales from new products
- Provide the best value for the cost
- Provide reliable products or services
- Increase revenue
- Have the most innovative products or services
- Differentiate the product
- Reduce waste by a certain amount
- Reduce energy usage per unit of production
- Increase recycling
- Improve reporting and transparency
- etc.
After evaluating strategic goals by your criteria, you would see them sorted by how much they match the requirements. And it would be crystal clear what to aim for.
4. Choosing a Brand Name
When you introduce a new product to the market, it’s crucial to choose its name well. How you name a brand has a lot of influence on how people perceive it and buy it.
Using “1st things 1st,” you would begin prioritizing your options for brand names by setting success criteria, for example,
- How short is it?
- How simple is it?
- How much does it suggest a category of products?
- How unique is it ?
- How alliterative is it (does it rhyme)?
- How speakable is it?
- How shocking is it ?
- How personalized is it?
- How easy is it to spell?
- Do all shareholders like it?
- How well does it sound together with a company name?
- Doesn’t it have any negative associations?
- Does it have a nice meaning?
- Is it ethnically appropriate?
- and so on…
Then you would list your brand name candidates and evaluate them by these criteria.
The prioritizer would calculate and show you the priorities sorted out. Then it’s straightforward to pick the best one.
Moreover, similarly, you could choose a name for your company.
5. Choosing Marketing Strategies
When you have a product, one of the puzzles is to decide how to best market it. There could be many marketing tactics and strategies, like updating a website, regularly posting on certain social media accounts, recruiting guest bloggers, creating contests, doing A/B testing of specific widgets, advertising on certain platforms, using affiliate programs, developing introductory videos, writing cold emails, etc. To choose your most optimal marketing strategy, you have to prioritize.
With “1st things 1st”, in the beginning, you would define success criteria for your marketing strategies, something like:
- How likely does it aim at your target market?
- How likely does it support your niche?
- How much does it develop brand awareness?
- How much does it build credibility?
- How much does it maintain focus?
- How accessible is it for the customers?
- How measurable is it?
- How much can it be analyzed?
- How ethical is it?
- How innovative is it?
- How much value does it provide for its cost?
- How skillful are you to use this strategy?
- and others…
Then you would list the options for marketing strategies, for example:
- Do A/B testing.
- Refine ad targeting.
- Personalize website content.
- Create more engaging ad copy.
- Add compelling design elements.
- Improve website speed.
- Develop editorial content for content sharing.
- Regularly post on the Facebook page.
- Regularly post on the LinkedIn feed.
- and so on…
After evaluating individual options by each criterion, you would have an overview of which strategies to choose, which to consider, and which to skip.
6. Choosing Innovative Technologies
Would you agree that to keep up with innovations and keep your customers engaged, you need to upgrade your products and services from time to time? Blockchain, Internet of Things, drones, 5G connection, and other novelties never sleep. So which of the new technologies should be integrated into your business?
With “1st things 1st,” you can figure that out by asking these questions at the beginning:
- How relatable is it to our business?
- How high impact would it make for our business?
- How cost-effective is it?
Then you would list the innovative technologies, like:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Internet of Things
- Blockchain
- 3D Printing
- Mobile Apps
- Autonomous Cars
- Robotics
- Virtual Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Wireless Power
- Quantum Computing
- 5G Connection
- Smart Assistants
- Cybersecurity
- Mobile Internet
- Drones
- Chatbots
- Personalized offerings
- Home delivery
- E-commerce
After answering those questions for each technology, you would clearly see what’s worth pursuing.
7. Choosing a Software Solution
When you have to evaluate and choose one of several software products of the same category for your company, “1st things 1st” can help you with that too.
In the beginning, you would list out success criteria for the winning software solution. These criteria could work:
- Usability
- Reliability
- Security
- Manageability
- Performance
- Availability
- Scalability
- Maintainability
- Supportability
- Reusability
- Testability
- Integrity
- The size of the user community
- etc.
Then you would list out your 2 or more software solutions that you want to compare and choose from.
After evaluating each option by each criterion, you would immediately see which of the systems to choose.
8. Choosing Productivity Tools
Or, let’s say, you need to choose a productivity tool to improve your and your team’s productivity and get everything better organized. You could prioritize productivity tools by matching the benefits and features as well.
With “1st things 1st”, at first you would define your criteria, maybe something from this list:
- Does it get me organized?
- Does it improve habits?
- Does it increase focus?
- Does it save time?
- Does it save money?
- Is it easy to start?
- Is it easy to learn?
- Is it worth the price?
- Is it effective?
- Is it highly recommended?
- Does it have all the necessary features?
- Is it available on mobile devices?
- Is it available on desktop computers?
- Does it integrate with other tools I use?
- Is it accessible?
- Is it collaborative?
- Is the user interface intuitive?
- Is there an offline mode?
- Can it be synced across devices?
- Is it affordable?
- Is it fast?
- Is it mature?
- Do you like it?
- Does it offer technical support?
- Is it made by a reputable company?
You get the idea.
Then you would list out the productivity tools:
- 1st things 1st
- Asana
- Basecamp
- Doodle
- Eisenhower Matrix
- Google Calendar
- Google Docs
- Google Workspace
- Grammarly
- IFTTT
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Teams
- Monday.com
- Notion
- Pen and paper
- Slack
- Slite
- Trello
- Zapier
- and so on…
After evaluating each of your options from each perspective, you would have a clear view of what to start using in your daily workflows.
9. Choosing an Office Location
One of the essential material choices to make is choosing an office space to rent. Here you can also look at your choices from different perspectives and let “1st things 1st” help you decide.
At first, you would define your criteria for your best office location. These could be some examples:
- Can our clients get there without a hassle?
- Can our employees get there easily?
- Can we afford to pay a three-month rent deposit on this office right now?
- Are all the costs transparent?
- Is the office space furnished?
- Is the office space not overpriced?
- Will there be at least 6.5 m² of floor space per person?
- Is there enough room to grow the team?
- Is there a dedicated space for meeting with clients?
- Will our employees be happy with their social and recreation areas?
- Is there 24/7 access?
- Does it have a kitchen?
- Does it have a shower?
- Is the space pet-friendly?
- Is the WIFI available?
- Are cleaning services available?
- and so on…
Then you would list the addresses of office spaces to rent that are interesting to you.
After evaluating each office by each criterion, you would clearly see which of the locations most suit to your company.
10. Choosing a Coworking Space
Similarly, if you work remotely, in a small team, or alone, you might like to choose a coworking space to rent. Without a doubt, you can use “1st things 1st” to prioritize these options too.
These could be some of the features that you would expect from an ideal coworking space:
- Are there enough desks for the number of people you need?
- Is the internet available?
- Is a phone available?
- Are mailboxes available?
- Are there meeting rooms?
- Is there a reception?
- Are there phone booths?
- Is there a quiet place for meditation?
- Is there a bike rack?
- Are there showers available?
- Is the space accessible for a wheelchair?
- Is the kitchen available?
- Are there cleaning services?
- Is there enough light?
- Is there a coffee machine?
- Are there fridges for your own food?
- Are drinks or snacks available?
The questions could go on…
Then you would list the addresses of coworking spaces to rent that are interesting to you.
After evaluating your options by each of those questions, you would clearly see what to choose.
Introducing 1st things 1st, the ultimate solution for making complex decisions with ease.
With intuitive and smart prioritization tools, you can confidently prioritize options based on your personal preferences and assess them from multiple angles. Customizable templates allow you to align your priorities with your goals, while our AI-powered autosuggestion and fast evaluations equip you for confident and informed decisions.
Don’t struggle with analysis paralysis –
unlock the full potential of your decision-making with 1st things 1st.
Final Thoughts
Whether you prioritize immaterial things like tasks, goals, or strategies, or material things like office spaces, tools, or technologies, you can use “1st things 1st” to make business decisions intelligently by looking at your options from different perspectives. Let your essential choices not be driven just by emotion and spontaneity but instead by common knowledge, your values, and your rationality. Let your decisions be smart. And with “1st things 1st,” you can do that quite easily.
Photos by Daria Shevtsova, Thirdman, NORTHFOLK, Tima Miroshnichenko, Anna Shvets, Annie Spratt, Ron McClenny, Kevin Ku, Bermix Studio, Anna Nekrashevich.