I’m sure you’ve heard about DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) asking federal employees to detail five workplace accomplishments from the prior week. The focus of this column is never intended to be political, but I must say that this is something I agree with and personally do — and h ave been doing for about 20 years now — with a twist.  Once upon a time in a land far away, I worked as a regional finance director for Marriott International Hotels. We supported 48 hotels, and in my role, I provided operational finance services to four regional directors covering England, Wales and Scotland. To put it simply, I had a lot going on.  One of my regional directors was named Heiko, and something I learned from him has stuck with me all these years, both as an employee and now as a business owner. Usually, toward the end of his working day on a Friday, he would prepare and submit a one-sheet document that he titled his “WIN” plan. This stood for “What’s Important Now?”  Imagine a single landscape-formatted document with the five days of the normal working week listed down the left side. On the right side, each day would list five to seven bullet points of what Heiko deemed to be his highest priorities for that day and week.  Heiko would send this out to his direct reports (one of whom was me), and at first, I must admit I thought, “What on earth is this, and why do I need to know what Heiko’s plans are for the week?” But after a few weeks of receiving this single sheet on time — like clockwork every Friday afternoon — I started to realize the genius of this gesture.  I didn’t have to guess what was top of mind for Heiko; it was there in black and white. I didn’t have to wonder where his travels would take him across our portfolio of hotels, as it was all mapped out. I didn’t have to hope I’d remember what deadlines he was working toward (and, consequently, when I needed to have certain tasks done), as it was all crystal-clear and concise.   Not only did Heiko’s WIN plan impress me, but I can honestly say that when I think about the four regions my finance function supported, his was by far the most efficient, most effective and most profitable. I believe this was because his focus and attention to results-driven activity were superior to the other three regions. In hindsight, I also found his regional team to be the best, most joyful, and least-stressed group compared to the others I supported.  As I reflect upon the principle Heiko employed and inspired, I realize now it’s the universal and objective truth that mental creation precedes physical creation. See-Do-Get. This principle demonstrates, in very pragmatic terms, that if we want an effective and efficient week, we have to first envision one. Proverbs tells us that as a person thinks, so are they. Of course, a vision without action is just a hallucination, so we must ensure we do what we say we’re going to do.  Therein lies another aspect of the genius behind Heiko’s WIN plan — by sharing the plan, he was more likely to achieve it. By trumpeting and declaring what he was planning to do, he knew his integrity would suffer if his words were nothing but a clanging bell with no melody.  So, whereas DOGE is asking employees to look in the rear-view mirror to reflect on the week that was, Heiko’s WIN plan was clearly looking out the windshield at the week that will be.  I learned a lot from Heiko, but most of all, he taught me by example the value and importance of casting a vision for the week ahead, sharing it with those you work interdependently with, and then holding yourself accountable for executing all that you stated you would. Heiko taught me to look forward and glance backward.  I believe all employees and entrepreneurs would benefit tremendously from implementing Heiko’s “WIN” plan. He saw his team as being his customers just how I believe it’s fair and reasonable to remind federal employees they too have customers — the U.S. taxpayer.   Paul Butler is a Santa Clarita resident and a client partner with Newleaf Training and Development of Valencia (newleaftd.com). For questions or comments, email Butler at paul.butler@newleaftd.com.  The post Paul Butler | What’s Important Now?   appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal. ...read more read less