PART 1 OF A 3-PART SERIES ON OVERCOMING THE TYRANNY OF THE URGENT Imagine Sarah, a CEO known for her relentless work ethic. She arrives early on a Monday, ahead of the workday, ready to start drafting the company's new enterprise-wide operational framework, a strategic roadmap guiding her company’s 5-year growth. But before she even opens the file, an email pops up: "URGENT: Major Client X Issue." The strategic roadmap is pushed aside, Sarah dives into the problem, and four hours later Sarah she realizes she's spent the entire morning troubleshooting something that probably could have been solved by a mid-level manager. By the time the fire is out, it's noon. She feels a rush of self-satisfaction for "saving the day," but she’s exhausted, she hasn't gotten done what she'd planned to do, and she moves her strategic work to an evening slot that she knows when she schedules will likely never materialize. Sarah is not ineffective—she’s trapped. This ...