__ Leslie W. Braksick, Ph.D.

THE TIMEIS NOWFocus on long-term goals to avoid being consumed by short-term problems

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Whenwas the last time you hadmore than five uninterruptedminutes to just think? Howabout 10minutes to focus onsomething beyond the nexttwo quarters?

Companies that seize theopportunity to plan, strategizeand build wisely for the futureare the firms that quicklyoutpace their competitorswhen the economy recovers.With the frenzied pace to "just

do something"that a downeconomy creates,even the brightestand best leadersfail to takesufficient time tofocus on the long-term strategicopportunities.They are being

swallowed by theurgent, short-termthings demandingtheir attention- requests fromthe boss fordetails on thecurrent situation,explanationsfor the board,detailed rearview

descriptions on why thenumbers are down, etc. Theyare losing their time to thinkabout the future.

Executives' days are filledwith back-to-back meetings,e-mails, voice mails andanswering calls from otherswith urgent problems.They have no time left tocomprehend the informationcoming in from forecasts,reports, articles or competitoranalyses. Having the timeto focus on things that are

6 Smart Business Pittsburgh I January 2011

many months or years downthe road has become anunaffordable luxury.

Reclaim your time tofocus on the future. Decidewhat not to do. Stop kiddingyourself about your capacityto take on more work andgive yourself the freedom tosay no.

If you cannot readily makethe connection between agiven task and a key businessdriver, drop it. A commonmistake is scheduling back-to-back meetings with little or notime to process information orfocus on the long-term futureopportunities.

Stop trying to be ahero. Reject the idea thata successful leader is the"rugged individual" doing allof the work and making allofthe decisions. Challengeyourself to delegate thingsthat can be done by others.Engage others to stretch andgrow. Seize opportunities todelegate. Others will benefitfrom knowing you are takingsteps to focus on the long-termof the business.

Take care of yourself.Get control of your time bymaking good decisions aboutyour health and fitness. Yourcapacity to think clearly andmake effective decisions isa function of your physicalhealth. Sleep, nutrition andphysical fitness are often thefirst things sacrificed whentime runs short.

Seek feedback. Solicitfeedback from those withwhom you interact withoutrelying solely on your "innercircle."The worst thing you can do

is isolate yourself from anyinformation on how thingsare really going. Feedback isyour best leading indicatorof future success orfailure. Letting patterns ofineffective behavior continuein your organization will

I guarantee that you are neverable to get your time undercontrol.

Track and acknowledgeprogress. Identify metricsto measure your individualwork on longer-term issuesand diligently track progressagainst those measures.Track personal progress

on longer-term goals toensure that you are movingforward. Celebrate smallwins. Executing longer-term plans is about makingsteady, meaningful progressover time.You cannot afford to

be too busy to thinkabout your future. Whatyou say and do sends amessage about what ismost important. If it is OKfor you to forego workon longer-term items, youshould expect others to dothe same. Don't leave workon the future to chance.These are tough times andrequire tough choices. Youmust manage today andlead for tomorrow. «

LESLIE W. BRAKSICK, PhD, is co-founder of CLG Inc. and author of 'Preparing CEOs forSuccess: What I Wish I Knew" and "Unlock Behavior, Unleash Profits." Braksick consults with topexecutives and their boards on issues of executive leadership succession, leadership effectivenessand strategy execution. Reach her at Ibraksick@clg.com or www.clg.com.