Key Tasks – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

Clarity and alignment come before the task

Photo by Randy Jacob on Unsplash

A project usually has a set of milestones that simply have to happen. Milestones mark key events, and when they’re met, or when their deadline arrives, they tell us whether we’re on course and on time. A project has a start and an end. That’s the classic definition, along with the fact that it’s conceived around an initial goal. Within that timeframe, all kinds of tasks take place, and carrying them out should move us toward the final result we envisioned from the start.

The paths to a goal are endless. What they all share is a set of tasks, the work to be done, milestones along the way, resources to invest and so on. Yet only one thing separates a good path from a wrong one: purpose. Every task is pointless without a purpose. Put positively, every task is meaningful when there is one. These are strong statements, and also true and revealing ones, and they can make us rethink everything we might take on without really knowing whether it’s worth it.

Key tasks stand apart because they’re the priorities. The other tasks still have value. A key task will usually move us toward the milestones along the way. In project jargon, the chain of key tasks forms a single path, the critical path, that has to be completed to meet the timeline and, ideally, the expected results. The crucial alignment I see here is between each task and the purpose of the person doing it. There has to be clarity on how the task (usually small steps over time), the person and the organization fit together.

Whatever the size of the project, company or organization, alignment and clarity matter more and more. It’s hard to offer a clear view of things, or of the future, without first tying it to a purpose. Part of a leader’s job is to offer a vision that inspires and connects, and that may be one of the defining challenges of our time: offering clarity about what we believe the future holds while linking it to why that future matters. We all have a purpose. Projects have a purpose, people have a purpose, organizations have a purpose. Are all three aligned? How do we align them? And once everything is clear and aligned, are we willing to do the important tasks?

A hug and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

• P.S. This week’s VELA:
• What I was watching: The Re-Education of Jordan Peterson. I admire Jordan Peterson’s work. He’s one of the best authors to come into my life, and I wish him all the best with the problem he’s facing. I’m sure he’ll come through it fine
  – What I was listening to: Generación idiota (The Idiot Generation). Agustín Laje’s book by that title comes out very soon, and this video is well worth watching
  – What I was reading: Liberalismo para padres (Liberalism for Parents). A great book to read and reread. Hard to finish because every line packs so much, like this one: "An adult with a light of their own carries their own government and their own authority within. They will want to deal as equals with every free adult in the society they live in. They will not feel like a victim of what others did or failed to do. Nor will they feel guilty for things they did not do" (Roberto Zapata Ugstad, Liberalismo para padres)
  – What I was learning: Dr La Rosa. My first discovery of 2023. What stands out most is how simply he explains concepts across many subjects (the way I’ve always liked to learn and to teach)

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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