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The $25,000 Idea

In this episode - The $25,000 Idea . . .

Have you ever heard about the single idea for which a man was paid $25,000?

I’ve been scouring my audio library for thoughts we could share. And was reminded of the simplicity and power of this story that Earl Nightingale shared in his seminal work Lead the Field; here it is;

The president of a big steel company had granted an interview to an efficiency expert named Ivy Lee. Lee told his prospective client how he could help him better manage the company.

The president broke in to say something to the effect that he wasn’t managing as well as he knew how. He went on to tell Ivy Lee that what was needed wasn’t more knowing - but more doing.

“We know what we should be doing. If you can show us a better way of getting it done, I’ll listen to you – and pay you anything within reason you ask.”

Lee then said he could give him something in 20 minutes to increase his efficiency by at least 50 percent. He then handed the executive a blank sheet of paper and said, “Write down on this paper the six most important things you have to do tomorrow.” The executive thought about it and did as requested. It took him about three minutes.

Lee said, “Now number them in the order of importance to you and the company.” That took another three to four minutes.

“Now put the paper in your pocket, and first thing tomorrow morning, take it out and look at item number one. Don’t look at the others; just number one, and start working on it. And if you can, stay with it until it’s completed. Then take item number two the same way, number three, and so on, until you have to quit for the day.”

“Don’t worry if you have finished only one or two items on your list. The others can wait. If you can’t finish them all by this method, you can’t finish them with any other method. And without some system, you’d probably take 10 times as long to finish them – and might not even have them in the order of their importance.”

“Do this every working day,” Lee went on. “After you’ve convinced yourself of the value of this system, have your men try it. Try it as long as you like, and then send me your check for whatever you think the idea is worth.”

The entire interview hadn’t taken more than 30 minutes.

In a few weeks, the story has it, the company president sent Ivy Lee a check for $25,000, with a letter saying the lesson was the most profitable, from a money standpoint, he had ever learned in his life. And it is said that this plan was largely responsible for turning what was then a little-known steel company into one of the largest independent steel producers in the world.

So what are you waiting for? Dictate a note into your Smartphone of the six most important things you have to do. Then number them in the order of their importance.

Tomorrow morning, go to work on item number one and stay with it until it’s completed. Then move on to number two, and so on. When you’ve finished all six, repeat the process.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Give it a try. Why not?

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

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