The factory is in flames, panic everywhere. Managers run, shout, extinguish.
But the boss remains calm: “What is the most important task now?” – “Fight the fire!”, someone shouts.
“Wrong,” he says. “First get everyone out!”
This attitude – deciding radically in the moment what really matters – is the true core of Ivy Lee’s $25,000 method.
It does not teach lists for their own sake, but consciously defining the next crucial task in every situation – and acting immediately.
Exactly this clarity decided life back then and later millions: a simple principle that brings order to chaos and makes productivity explode.