September 30, 2015
Pebbles, Rocks, and Water
By Jim Tune Most readers will be familiar with Stephen Covey”s prioritizing system. He urges us to differentiate the truly important from the merely urgent; the essential thing from the merely marginal. Frequently referred to as the “big rocks” illustration, Covey produces a bucket (which symbolizes our life), a few big rocks (which symbolize our most essential priorities), and a bunch of small pebbles (which symbolize the tasks that seem urgent, but ultimately aren”t essential). Covey pours the pebbles into the bucket, and then invites a seminar participant to try to add all of the big rocks. This proves impossible,





