Cliff Craig joins the podcast to talk about the challenges of the “current vs. ideal state.” He talks about the importance of prioritizing effective and impactful tasks over more desirable changes, and how dealing with disappointment and diminished returns in the short term may actually be better for the health and productivity in the long run. He also discusses the hardships of fast-paced environments and how they can often be a drain on productivity, saying that it’s easy to get into the habit of checking things off a list of tasks instead of prioritizing them properly. He underlines the impact that strategic planning can have on an agency, and talks about the best ways to split your time between proactive and operational tasks. This podcast is brought to you by The Search Guru, produced in collaboration with Circle Audio, cover art by Andra Lazar.