This past week, during one of my coaching sessions, I was working with a salesperson who was struggling over where to spend time and effort during this economic tsunami. This person was unsure about whether to go after the big deals, mid-size opportunities or small prospects.

It reminded me of a story in which a teacher presented his time-management class with a jar filled with large rocks. He asked them if the jar was full. They said, yes, and he proceeded to shake a bunch of gravel into the jar between the rocks. “Now, it’s full,” his students said. The teacher just smiled and poured in a fistful of sand. “Surely now it’s full,” the students told him. The teacher shook his head and added a glass of water to the jar. His point was that you have to make room for the big rocks (life’s large, important things) first in order to make them all fit.

I agree, but I also want to point out that the jar has a place for everything—big and small. And it takes all these things to actually fill it up.

Applying the analogy—and my take on it—to the salesperson in my office: He was pondering “boulder-size” deals, average “rock-size” opportunities or “pebble-like” prospects. I told him I think it takes boulders, rocks and pebbles to be successful right now.

First, consider the boulders. I encourage you to spend 10 percent to 20 percent of your time with big, “boulder-like” opportunities. If you don’t ever go climbing for them, you never end up with any. Of course, boulders aren’t as common as rocks; that’s why you spend time here but not the majority of your time. You gotta increase your opportunities for success.

Your average, everyday rocks are more plentiful. Think of them as your “mid-sized” opportunities. Spend 60 percent to 70 percent of your time here. It’s this set of opportunities that determines your day-in and day-out success. Under normal conditions, I’d coach people to spend less time with these prospects—but, as I said, the boulders out there are limited. And in some cases right now, you can’t find any at all. It takes all size opportunities to achieve your goals in this economy. Think of this larger, wider approach as being rock-solid.

And finally, spend your remaining time and effort with “pebble-like” prospects. In ordinary times, I’d suggest ignoring these altogether; but these are not ordinary times. Now, I’m an optimist, and I do believe that this is the one time in a long, long time that you will have to work like this. But look at it as practice. If you haul enough pebbles, you’ll be in good enough shape (with enough hands-on practice) to handle any boulder that you eventually encounter. And you will.


In the difficult economic times we’re working in, it takes all kinds (and all sizes) of opportunities to achieve success and reach your goals. Right now, the pebbles are as important as the rocks and boulders. I say, “leave no stone unturned.” Embrace and focus on every opportunity that comes your way. There’s room right now for pebbles and rocks to fit in between the boulders.