Engaged By Design

MACRO Leadership - Prioritization Lessons from Rocks, Chocolate, and Chaos

Listen Later
🎙️EPISODE 2
MACRO Leadership: Leading Agile Change and Innovation in Higher Education
Chapter 2 Prioritize

Ever feel like you’re drowning in tasks with no clear way out? In this episode, Michael and Vernon unpack what it really means to prioritize strategically as a leader. From Covey’s famous “rocks in a jar” to the chaos of Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory, they explore how planning, transparency, and agility can rescue your organization from overload. Discover practical tools like the Eisenhower Matrix and learn how to make prioritization a shared habit—not just a yearly report.

In this episode of the Engaged By Design podcast, Dr. Michael Cottam and Dr. Vernon Smith explore how mid-level leaders can transform chaos into clarity through intentional prioritization. Using memorable metaphors like Stephen Covey’s “Big Rocks” and the “I Love Lucy” chocolate factory sketch, they address the hidden costs of poor prioritization: burnout, missed deadlines, and mission drift. They break down: 

  • The illusion of doing it all—and why “should” is not a strategy 
  • The role of organizational culture and budgeting in setting (or derailing) priorities 
  • Why strategic plans fail, and how to make them living documents 
  • How tools like the Eisenhower Matrix and value-based filters can restore focus 
  • What the chocolate factory sketch teaches us about pacing and capacity.
    • REFLECTION QUESTIONS
    • What are your top 5 priorities right now—and how were they selected?
    • How aligned are those priorities with your mission, values, and capacity?
    • What are you calling a “big rock” that might actually be polished gravel?
      • RESOURCES MENTIONED
      • Download all Resources on the Blog Resources Page on the Engaged By Design Site.
      • Covey’s Big Rocks
        • YouTube Video from FranklinCovey
        • I Love Lucy
          • YouTube Video from Paramount+
            • SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

            Like what you heard? Share this episode with a colleague. Subscribe to the show for more MACRO Leadership strategies—and start leading with clarity, not chaos.

            [1] Stephen R. Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Revised and Updated: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (London: Simon & Schuster, Incorporated, 2020)

            🔗 AFFILIATE LINKS 

            Books referenced in this episode

            • MACRO Leadership, by Michael Cottam: https://amzn.to/476zHRP 

              • The technology we used

              • Shure MV7+ Microphone: https://amzn.to/4obxnPC 
              • Shure MV7i Microphone with Audio Interface: https://amzn.to/3GX0Jkb 
                • ...more
                View all episodesView all episodes
                Download on the App Store
                Engaged By DesignBy Dr. Michael Cottam and Dr. Vernon Smith