Free Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky Page A

burdens,” El enthal explained to me. “The gravitational pul over an operator is nearly impossible to escape. When faced with a choice of what to do next, what must be done today wil always trump what might be developed for tomorrow.” In other words, there is a great tension between the urgent operational items with current projects that arise every day and the more important (but less timely) items that are liable to be perpetual y postponed. Without some sense of discipline, the company would drown in the everyday “urgent items” to the detriment of the company’s success over time.
    Walker Digital’s distinctive culture may help explain its ability to consistently focus on long-term projects. For starters, the company is privately owned. “No normal investor would ever have the patience for turning ideas into patents,” explains El enthal. The time and expense invested in the patent side of the business might scare away ordinary investors, but for the Walker Digital employees, it has only reinforced the value of ideas.
    “The amount of energy we invest in turning ideas into commercial assets encourages people to maintain their ideas—and keep them top of mind. . . . Everyone knows how valuable an idea may become for us.”
    A shared respect for the potential of ideas empowers people to speak up when day-to-day operations start to interfere. El enthal and his executive team take particular pride in the company’s straightforwardness. His col eague and chief marketing officer, Shirley Bergin, elaborated: “Our value for clarity overcomes the risk and fear of speaking up when something doesn’t make sense.” For a company that is entrenched in both operations and long-term innovation simultaneously, the aspiration for clarity maintains a constant, healthy debate around energy al ocation.
    Walker Digital’s shared value for ideas—and a culture that constantly seeks clarity —empowers people to quarantine themselves for extended periods of time while researching long-term projects. The company is even structured to al ow half the company to engage in long-term pursuits while the other half oversees the legal and operational side of managing the patents. Through a finely tuned culture, Walker Digital is able to keep long-term pursuits alive.
    Whether you work alone or within a team (or company) ful of people, the first step is to discern what is urgent versus what is important in the long term. Especial y in the creative environment, important projects often require substantive time and mental loyalty. The constant flow of “urgent” matters that arise for you—the daily questions from clients, the bil s to pay, the problems and glitches—threaten to interfere with your long-term objectives. The chal enge is compounded for projects that you created yourself. As the creator, you feel a sense of ownership and, with it, a heavy impulse to address every task or problem immediately.
    There is too much focus on “fixing.” How can you maintain long-term objectives rather than suffer at the mercy of urgent tasks? It is cal ed prioritization. And to prioritize, you must become more disciplined and use methods that prompt compartmentalization and focus.
    Here are some tips to consider:
    Keep two lists. When it comes to organizing your Action Steps of the day—and how your energy wil be al ocated—create two lists: one for urgent items and another for important ones. Long-term goals and priorities deserve a list of their own and should not compete against the urgent items that can easily consume your day. Once you have two lists, you can preserve different periods of time to focus on each.
    Choose five projects that matter most. Recognize that compromise is a necessity.
    Some people narrow their list of important items to just five specific things. Family is often one of the five, along with a few other specific projects or passions that require everyday attention. The most important aspect of this list is