When Deborah Thomas, newly minted CEO of Ardent Leisure, was asked if she knew how to operate a roller coaster, she probably gave an inward sigh along with her considered response.

“I’m not here to operate the roller coaster; I’m here to make sure that people queue up and want to spend their money to take a ride on it.” she said.

Of course it takes more than knowing how to pull the lever to keep the roller coaster moving.

It’s easy to get caught up attending to someone else’s agenda, to spend time micro-managing, or lose yourself in the day’s minutiae. It feels good to respond to email, discuss tactics and to be kept busy. But you need to be clear about your own priorities. Once you prioritise and show others how to do that too everybody knows how to play their part.

What are you really here to do?

Image by Massachusetts Tourism.