PICK this not that…
Making Smarter Decisions Faster: How PICK Charts Streamline Business Priorities
Remember playing red rover as a kid? If not, you had a lovely elementary school experience. Lets flash back to that moment, holding sweaty hands with children that may or may not PICK their noses. You wait with anxiety, anticipation and trepidation to see who the other team will PICK to run full speed across a field with spotty grass and random rocks and try to break their wall of hands. Who do you PICK for that task first? The weakest link. You call out the name of the weakest link (hoping to not hear your name in return) because that is EASY and FAST. Fast forward a few decades and I still play with PICKing easy and fast but now I weigh easy/fast with cost in both dollars and time.
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting where everyone agrees something needs to be done—but no one agrees on what to tackle first—you know how easy it is for decision-making to stall. As a fractional COO, I’ve learned that clarity beats consensus paralysis every time.
What is the answer? The PICK chart.
What is a PICK Chart?
A PICK chart is a simple 2x2 matrix used to quickly sort potential projects or improvements based on two criteria:
Impact -How much benefit will it bring?
Ease -How simple or costly will it be for you to implement?
You map each idea into one of four quadrants:
Possible – Low impact, easy to do.
Implement – High impact, easy to do.
Challenge – High impact, hard to do.
Kill – Low impact, hard to do.
It’s part prioritization tool, part reality check.
Why It Works So Well for Growing Businesses
When you’re scaling, you’re constantly bombarded with “good ideas.” If you are the founder those good ideas might be coming from you and are bombarding your team. The challenge is that not all good ideas are right now ideas, but how do you decide what is urgent versus put on hold?
PICK charts bring clarity so you can:
Quickly identify quick wins that energize the team.
Plan for longer wins that need more planning.
Spot high-effort, low-payoff projects before they drain your mental and financial resources.
Keep conversations objective by grounding them in measurable impact and effort.
How to Use a PICK Chart in Your Business
Brainstorm ideas without filtering -I call this the magic wand wish list.
Rate each idea on impact and ease (high/low).
Plot them into the matrix - refer back to elementary school math and science word problems.
Focus on “Implement” first, “Possible” next, “Challenge” with planning, and “Kill” last (or never).
Let’s wander back to elementary school where we first saw these charts but didn’t know what Mrs. Billings (yes, real name) was setting you up for. I remember my first pack of graph paper in third grade and the possibilities it opened up for me. I could make graphs, design future houses, color and doodle patterns! To keep your team focused on the task and not hand coloring minesweeper in a notebook, excel makes a great PICK chart, there are free templates.
What is your PICK this week?
