The factory is in flames, panic everywhere. Managers are running, shouting, extinguishing.
But the boss remains calm: “What is the most important task right 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 doesn’t teach making 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.