The 4 legged stool

1. The 4-Legged Stool
www.theevansgroupllc.com
Chip Evans, PH.D.

2. Chip Evans, Ph.D. www.theevansgroupllc.com
The 4-Legged Stool
It has been proven that the human mind can only truly handle 5 large projects or situations at a time.
Multi-tasking may “sound good” but does not really happen. We end up doing some things without
completing them, while doing other jobs without complete thinking. As speed takes over our universe,
and we have instantaneous communication it’s our natural tendency to begin to overload, or to
hit our threshold.
To develop a business, a plan, or a project, it is always best to organize the effort. Most companies fail
here because they have so many people multitasking that it is impossible to sit down, prioritize, and
then execute.
We fail at the execution.
To organize that effort, I work as a consultant teaching organizations to focus on no more than 5 core
objectives at one time. Each objective has a “seat”, or a core issue, shown in the 4-legged stool pictured
below. This “seat” is defined as the WHAT (what must be done, what the issue is, what opportunity is
being considered) and 4 legs hold up that seat, or the core issue.
One by one, we replace, bolster or rebuild four legs of the stool. We assign people to the tasks
associated with the issues for each seat of the stool. You can build the four legs at one time, just not too
fast on any one leg, and with projects that work in harmony. Or, some smart organizations may do the
“research leg” before they even consider building a 4-legged stool.
Think of it as having rungs up a ladder, or multiple
chair rails to build from the bottom of each stool leg
to get to the top. You may not have to work on four
legs at the same time, but the goal is strong support
(the legs) for the concept (the seat).
This is a simple drawing that simply says:
• Identify the issue (the seat)
• Define the issues and the how to’s (the legs)
It’s thinking this simply that can allow the complexity
of a project to be completed
perfectly.