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May 20, 2007

What is He Talking About? Chris Cree on Order

Chris Cree wrote this at 10:32 am

“First things first. But not necessarily in that order.” –Doctor Who

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Liz said something very kind to me the other day.

We were catching up on some post conference details when she said, “Chris, you are a Choreographer of Success. You clear roadblocks so things can get done.”

That’s me. Mr. Snow-Plow.

I clear the way and things happen.

I guess you could say I’m sorta like Doctor Who, but on a much smaller scale.
Doctor Who
I mean the good Doctor seems to chronically stumble onto some sort of doomsday end-of-humanity scenario. Then he’ll figure out exactly what needs to be done (and no more), and get it done just in the nick of time. All with a cheery attitude and a touch of drama (of course). And then he slides off into the Tardis as anonymously as possible.

One of the tricks to being a successful snow plow (a snow plow of success?) is the ability to prioritize well. And that obviously means the ability to put first things first.

Except when it doesn’t.

The thing is we try so hard to formula-ize things like success as though we can follow a recipe or program ourselves like a computer to achieve success. There is a whole industry making a ton of money selling people all kinds of formulas.

Some work better than others, no doubt.

But the truth is success isn’t so much a set of action steps as it is a montage of guiding principles that when collectively applied produce desirable results.

One trick is to know when to keep first things first. And then recognize those times when you will get better results doing something else first. Unfortunately I haven’t found the formula that will tell the difference every time.

Until I come up with one, I’ll just plow on. Like the good Doctor, I’ll keep applying what I know and making the rest up as I go.

And that’s just the Way I C it.

–Chris Cree, SuccessCREEations.

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4 Comments to “What is He Talking About? Chris Cree on Order”

  1. May 20th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
    Vernon Lun said

    In today’s world, I would prize agility above knowledge. Being able to react in the face of uncertainty is more realistic and important than knowing what to do at every turn.

  2. May 20th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
    Carma Dutra said

    Chris, exactly what is first? I believe it is relative to the situation. You really make me think. :)

    After being in business for 28 years, I can safely say that success is just hanging on longer than everyone else. Just like the snow plow you already have the formula.

  3. May 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 am
    Chris Cree said

    Vernon,

    I would prize agility above knowledge.

    Great quote. I guess we better keep stretching!

  4. May 22nd, 2007 at 5:00 am
    Chris Cree said

    Carma, That is the million dollar question, isn’t it? I think it was Napoleon that said the trait he most valued in a soldier was endurance. Hang in there and get it done!

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