{"id":525,"date":"2012-04-09T18:12:01","date_gmt":"2012-04-09T23:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/?p=525"},"modified":"2025-10-29T10:21:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:21:38","slug":"opportunity-triage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/opportunity-triage\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity Triage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"525\" class=\"elementor elementor-525\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ddad2ec elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ddad2ec\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8324793\" data-id=\"8324793\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b27080 elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"5b27080\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"12411\" class=\"elementor elementor-12411\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1255d61 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1255d61\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6264de3\" data-id=\"6264de3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61125fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"61125fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Opportunity Triage<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c1117e elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"2c1117e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-fcfa45b elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/author\/lbwebmaster\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-user-circle\" viewBox=\"0 0 496 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M248 104c-53 0-96 43-96 96s43 96 96 96 96-43 96-96-43-96-96-96zm0 144c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48s21.5-48 48-48 48 21.5 48 48-21.5 48-48 48zm0-240C111 8 0 119 0 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S385 8 248 8zm0 448c-49.7 0-95.1-18.3-130.1-48.4 14.9-23 40.4-38.6 69.6-39.5 20.8 6.4 40.6 9.6 60.5 9.6s39.7-3.1 60.5-9.6c29.2 1 54.7 16.5 69.6 39.5-35 30.1-80.4 48.4-130.1 48.4zm162.7-84.1c-24.4-31.4-62.1-51.9-105.1-51.9-10.2 0-26 9.6-57.6 9.6-31.5 0-47.4-9.6-57.6-9.6-42.9 0-80.6 20.5-105.1 51.9C61.9 339.2 48 299.2 48 256c0-110.3 89.7-200 200-200s200 89.7 200 200c0 43.2-13.9 83.2-37.3 115.9z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTom Lemanski\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-64a3176 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/2012\/04\/09\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-calendar\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M12 192h424c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v260c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V204c0-6.6 5.4-12 12-12zm436-44v-36c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48h-48V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H160V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v36c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h424c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>April 9, 2012<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-9c8288a elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"commentCount\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/opportunity-triage\/#comments\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-comment-dots\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M144 208c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zM256 32C114.6 32 0 125.1 0 240c0 47.6 19.9 91.2 52.9 126.3C38 405.7 7 439.1 6.5 439.5c-6.6 7-8.4 17.2-4.6 26S14.4 480 24 480c61.5 0 110-25.7 139.1-46.3C192 442.8 223.2 448 256 448c141.4 0 256-93.1 256-208S397.4 32 256 32zm0 368c-26.7 0-53.1-4.1-78.4-12.1l-22.7-7.2-19.5 13.8c-14.3 10.1-33.9 21.4-57.5 29 7.3-12.1 14.4-25.7 19.9-40.2l10.6-28.1-20.6-21.8C69.7 314.1 48 282.2 48 240c0-88.2 93.3-160 208-160s208 71.8 208 160-93.3 160-208 160z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-comments\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOne Comment\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a17d19d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"a17d19d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align:center;\u201d>\r\n<span class=\"bsf-rt-reading-time\"><span class=\"bsf-rt-display-label\" prefix=\"Reading Time\">\n\t\t<\/span> <span class=\"bsf-rt-display-time\" reading_time=\"3\"><\/span> \n\t\t<span class=\"bsf-rt-display-postfix\" postfix=\"mins\"><\/span><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-70a0327\" data-id=\"70a0327\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-228f411 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"228f411\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/123-LG-qon9if9ouwj0vymitl7clc97cz2z8uvqysvbp53dhc.png\" title=\"123-LG\" alt=\"Triage Icon\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f087e3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6f087e3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b692342 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b692342\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb36f64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fb36f64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A valuable business opportunity is a terrible thing to waste.\u00a0 Yet it will happen repeatedly if you\u00a0aren&#8217;t ready to respond when they appear.<\/p><h3><strong>Escalating Overload<\/strong><\/h3><p><a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/phone-ring.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-526\" title=\"phone-ring\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/phone-ring.gif\" alt=\"Ringing Phone\" width=\"143\" height=\"144\" \/><\/a>Living in the information age, the amount of issues competing for our attention continues to\u00a0 escalate. Remember the times when outsiders could only reach us through phone, mail or knocking on our door?\u00a0 The fax machine came along and generated new incoming messages with a heightened level of urgency.\u00a0 Electronic messages have all but obsoleted fax machines and intensified the volume of seemingly urgent messages.<\/p><h3><strong>Falling Through The Cracks?<\/strong><\/h3><p>New opportunities are constantly arriving by email, phone, snail mail and maybe even by fax.\u00a0 How do you recognize them and prevent them from falling through the cracks?\u00a0 You need to apply both skills and knowledge to gain systems that efficiently:<\/p><ol><li>Analyze<\/li><li>Prioritize<\/li><\/ol><p>\u00a0<\/p><h3><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Physician Writing in Medical Chart --- Image by \u00a9 Royalty-Free\/Corbis\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/dr-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"ER Doctor and Patient\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" \/>Prescription and Cure<\/strong><\/h3><p>Hospital Emergency Rooms have a time tested system for <strong><em>analyzing<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>prioritizing<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 It&#8217;s called <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Triage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>triage<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 It dates back to World War I when French medics created a system for prioritizing treatment of battlefield causalities.\u00a0 Triage has evolved it is still utilized in ER&#8217;s today. When the demands on ER&#8217;s resources exceed their ability to immediately treat all cases presented, the triage system sorts cases into three categories. Heart attacks prevail over hang nails.<\/p><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3><strong>Time Management Triage<\/strong><\/h3><p>Time management experts prescribe categorizing your activities into three simple categories:<\/p><ol><li>Must Do<\/li><li>Should Do<\/li><li>When I Have Time<\/li><\/ol><p>When applying this system, be aware that items in category #3 often go unattended.\u00a0 They fall through the cracks by design like a hang nail patient in an over burdened Emergency Room.<\/p><h3><strong>Business &#8220;Opportunity Triage<\/strong>&#8220;<\/h3><p>With business opportunities it is equally important to recognize the difference between heart attacks and hang nails.\u00a0 As you define the categories for your <strong><em>Opportunity Triage<\/em><\/strong> system, you analysis needs to analyze two factors:<\/p><h4><strong>1. &#8211; Value and\u00a0 Return on Investment<\/strong><\/h4><p>Quantify the opportunity&#8217;s potential in terms of revenue growth, or cost savings.<\/p><h4><strong>2. &#8211; Urgency<\/strong><\/h4><p>Estimate how long can the opportunity be ignored before it falls through the cracks<\/p><p>With this analysis, your opportunity triage criteria should resemble that of the World War I French medics. It might look something like this:<\/p><ol><li>Items with a potential financial impact greater than $ X that need immediate action<\/li><li>Items with that same financial impact that need action in the next 30 days<\/li><li>Those opportunities of lesser impact and less urgency<\/li><\/ol><p style=\"text-align: center;\">________________________________<\/p><h3><strong>How Crowded is Your Opportunity Waiting Room?<\/strong><\/h3><p>Do you have an effective system to analyze and rank your opportunities? If you don&#8217;t, some of them are likely to go untreated and may suffer an untimely death.\u00a0 A valuable opportunity is a terrible thing to waste.<\/p><h3><strong>Triage Trivia<\/strong><\/h3><p>The <em>triage<\/em> concept has helped hospital effectiveness for nearly 100 years. Effective prioritization is an essential leadership skill. It is all too often missing in running our businesses and our lives. I created the phrase, &#8220;<strong><em>Opportunity Triage<\/em><\/strong>&#8221; in 2002 while working with a client organization where the staff perceived every incoming customer as a heart attack. As they embraced triage and learned to analyze and prioritize, they were able to both regain their sanity and improve their <em>resource management<\/em>.<\/p><p>Whenever I&#8217;ve applied the phrase &#8220;Opportunity Triage&#8221; to other situations, I&#8217;ve found it&#8217;s really &#8220;sticky&#8221;.\u00a0 So\u00a0fittingly, I&#8217;m compelled share with my subscribers.\u00a0 On a selfish note, I&#8217;m claiming credit for creating the concept as I&#8217;ve notice others have borrowed it as their own. While we all borrow and use the ideas of others, it&#8217;s nice when we give credit to the originators.<\/p><h3><strong>Related Posts:<\/strong><\/h3><ul><li><a title=\"Three Simple Steps To Tackling Tough Tasks\" href=\"..\/tackling-tough-tasks\/\">Three Simple Steps To Tackling Tough Tasks<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/vista-development.com\/time-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Time is Money<\/a>: What does that really mean?<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A valuable business opportunity is a terrible thing to waste.  Yet it happens repeatedly when we aren&#8217;t ready for their arrival. 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