When everything is a top priority and nothing seems to fit in your organization’s schedule, it’s time to say “no” or drop something.

I’ve found that a good question to use in these situations is “what bad things happen if we don’t do this?”.

This helps us to see that the world without this or that work will actually be fine, or if it isn’t, make sure it’s not the thing we end up cutting. It helps to avoid the inevitable value inflation we place on work when we only consider the upside.

Cutting work is not the ideal activity for an organization, but hopefully this is another technique that might make those tough decisions a little easier. 

Good luck!

-Gary