Stop Working in the Dark
Stop Working in the Dark: Pick Three Priorities and Two Metrics That Actually Move the Needle
Picture this: it’s Friday afternoon, and you’ve been flat-out all week. Your to-do list looks like ground zero; half-finished tasks, urgent emails, and that one project you swore you’d tackle “tomorrow” for the past three weeks. Sound familiar?
Here’s a brutal truth: busy isn’t the same as effective. And the fastest way to feel that difference is to flip the script. Start with outcomes, then make every task earn its place against them.
The Three Priority Revolution
Most small business owners are drowning in a sea of “important” tasks. The secret to rescuing yourself from that scenario – choose only three priorities, and watch your productivity explode.
Why three? Because it forces focus, eliminates context-switching, and creates room for depth. With only three focal points, you can diagnose what’s broken and apply fixes that stick, rather than spreading yourself thin across ten half-finished initiatives.
But here’s the kicker, picking the right three tasks shouldn’t be left to guesswork. We recommend a structured scan using the Ascend Health Check.
The Outside-In, Inside-Out Method
Step 1: What Your Customers Care About (Outside-In)
Start by thinking like your customers. What makes them rave about you? What makes them never call you again?
If you’ve heard of the Kano Model then you can think of these as:
- Delighters: Things that create customer delight when done well (like surprise early delivery)
- Dissatisfiers: Things that cause customer pain if they go wrong (like missed deadlines)
Quick Exercise: List three activities your business performs that are delighters and three activities that as dissatisfiers in your customers’ eyes. Be aware that they could be the same activities. These will tell you what you need to get right to win customers and also to stop losing them.
Step 2: What's Blocking You (Inside-Out)
Now get honest about what’s not working as well as it should be. For each activity from Step 1, ask yourself:
- People: Do we have the right capability and enough capacity?
- Process: Is the way we do this consistent, and efficient?
- Systems: How well do our tools support the work we do?
Here’s where most business owners get it wrong: they assume it’s always a people problem. Often, it’s a broken process or a system that’s fighting against you every day.
Now Choose Your Three
Now that you’ve looked at your business from both sides – choose the three activities that are your focus. They will be where your customer notices what your business does and where you’ve been falling short of your potential. With that in mind, time to choose some measures…
The Two Metric Rule That Changes Everything
Here’s where most measurements fall flat: too many numbers, or numbers that don’t connect to anything meaningful.
The magic formula: One leading metric + One lagging metric = Control over results.
- Lagging metrics tell you whether you won (after the game is over)
- Leading metrics tell you whether you’re likely to win (while you can still change the outcome)
Real-World Example: From Chaos to Cash Flow
The Challenge: Sarah runs a consulting firm. Her revenue was stuck at $7,500 per week, and she was constantly firefighting.
The Breakthrough: Instead of working harder, she applied the three priority method and found her top three activities and what to focus on:
- Proposal Process: Fix proposal response time (this was taking 5 days and customers were going elsewhere)
- Client Onboarding: Systemise client onboarding (inconsistent experience was causing customer support problems)
- Financial Management: Update billing policy (new clients with unfavourable terms were squeezing cashflow and forcing marketing cost cutting)
The Metrics:
- Leading: Proposals responded in <48 hours
- Lagging: Weekly invoiced revenue
The math: $1,500 revenue gap ÷ $100 average invoice = 15 new customers needed
The Result: Revenue hit $9,150 in eight weeks; a 22% increase by focusing on just three things.
Your 5-Day Action Plan
15 minutes per day
Day 1: Review your business activities by doing the outside-in (customer) test
Day 2: Diagnose the real gaps (People/Process/Systems)
Day 3: Choose your three priorities and define your two metrics for your top priority
Day 4: Set up your “scoreboard” where you can see progress and start tracking daily
Day 5: Revisit your focus for yesterday and reset your priorities as needed
The Transformation
When you focus on three priorities with two connected metrics, something magical happens:
Your energy stops leaking into busy work. Your team knows what matters. Your customers feel the difference. And you finally have data that tells you whether you’re winning or losing before it’s too late to change course.
Common Traps (And How to Avoid Them)
❌ Vanity metrics: Social media likes don’t equal revenue
✅ Driver metrics: Focus on qualified leads that convert
❌ Too many measures: Ten metrics dilute attention
✅ Connected pairs: One leading + one lagging metric per priority
❌ Changing too often: New priorities every few days prevent compounding
✅ Stick with it: Give your three priorities at least a month to show results
The Bottom Line
Stop measuring everything and start measuring what matters. Pick three priorities using the Ascend Health Check method, pair them with leading and lagging metrics, and maintain your focus until the numbers move.
It’s simple on paper and powerful in practice, especially when you review progress out loud with others who keep you accountable.
Your challenge: Follow the action plan and start a daily rhythm today.
Because busy is not a business strategy; but focused measurement with consistent action? That’s how small businesses become successful businesses.
Want help implementing this system? The Ascend Accountability Program combines weekly workshops, daily stand-ups, and peer accountability to help business owners focus on what moves the needle.
Registration closes October 3rd! Limited spots available.