Start networking and exchanging professional insights

Register now or log in to join your professional community.

Follow

What is the difference between Urgent & Important ?

user-image
Question added by Mahmoud Abdulsamad , Export Sales Manager , B&S BV
Date Posted: 2015/09/10
Duncan Robertson
by Duncan Robertson , Strategy Consultant , Duncan Robertson Consultancy

The question - and the answer - is simple, but distinguishing between urgent and important can be surprisingly difficult in the real business world. 

Urgent - something which must be done immediately or a bad consequence will follow

Important - something which doesn't have to be done immediately, but if it isn't done at all then the consequences will be bad and serious

Tasks which are both urgent and important should be done first.  Those which are neither should probably not be done at all.

Example of urgent - a  phone call from an important client: you have to deal with it now, but the subject of the call may just be to check what time the forthcoming golf day starts.

Example of important - paying the supplier of a critical component: if you don't pay then your next delivery will not happen and your factory will grind to a halt.

 

Important :decide when you will do  Urgent  :do it immediately  

More Questions Like This

Do you need help in adding the right keywords to your CV? Let our CV writing experts help you.