Eat That Frog

Eat That Frog! Review you work list right now and put an A, B, C, D 
or E next to each task or activity. Select your A-1 job or project and 
begin on it immediately. Discipline yourself to do nothing else until 
this one job is complete. 
Practice this ABCDE Method every day and on every work or project 
list, before you begin work, for the next month. By that time, you will 
have developed the habit of setting and working on your highest 
priority tasks and your future will be assured! 
 
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Chapter 6 - Focus On Key Result Areas 
 
“When every physical and mental resource is focused, one’s power to solve a 
problem multiplies tremendously.” (Norman Vincent Peale) 
 
Why are you on the payroll? This is one of the most important 
questions you ever ask and answer, over and over again, throughout 
your career. 
As it happens, most people are not sure exactly why they are on the 
payroll. But if you are not crystal clear about why it is that you are on 
the payroll and what results you have been hired to accomplish, it is 
very hard for you to perform at your best and get paid more and 
promoted faster. 
In its simplest terms, you have been hired to get specific results. A 
wage or a salary is a payment for a specific quality and quantity of 
work that can be combined with the work of others to create a 
product or service that customers are willing to pay for. 
Each job can be broken down into about five to seven key result 
areas, seldom more. These are the results that you absolutely, 
positively have to get to fulfill your responsibilities and make your 
maximum contribution to your organization. 
 
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Key result areas are similar to the vital functions of the body, such as 
blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and brainwave activity. 
An absence of any one of these vital functions leads to the death of 
the organism. By the same token, your failure to perform in a critical 
result area of your work can lead to the end of your job as well. 
For example, the key result areas of management are: Planning, 
Organizing, Staffing, Delegating, Supervising, Measuring and 
Reporting. These are the results that a manager must get to succeed 
in his or her area of responsibility. 
There is essential knowledge and skill that you must have for your 
job. These demands are constantly changing. There are core 
competencies that you have developed that make it possible for you 
to do your job in the first place. But there are always key results that 
are central to your work and which determine your success or failure 
in your job. 
A key result area is defined as something for which you are 
completely responsible. This means that if you don't do it, it doesn't 
get done. A key result area is an activity that is under your control. It 
is an output of your work that becomes an input or a contributing 
factor to the work of others. 
 
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The starting point of high performance is for you to first of all 
identify the key result areas of your work. Discuss them with your 
boss. Make a list of your output responsibilities and make sure that 
the people above you, next to you and below you are in agreement 
with it. 
For example, for a salesperson, prospecting and opening new 
accounts is a key result area. This activity is the key to the entire sales 
process. Closing a sale is a key result area. When the sale is made, it 
triggers the activities of many other people to produce and deliver 
the product or service. 
For a company owner or key executive, negotiating a bank loan is a 
key result area. Hiring the right people and delegating effectively are 
both key result areas. For a receptionist or secretary, typing a letter or 
answering the phone and transferring the caller quickly and 
efficiently are defined as key result areas. A person’s ability to 
perform these tasks quickly and well largely determines their pay 
and promotability. 
Once you have determined your key result areas, the second step is 
for you to grade yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each of those areas. 
Where are you strong and where are you weak? Where are you 
getting excellent results and where are you underperforming?