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Prioritisation Task 13

You are a salesperson for a bottled water manufacturer and you need to attend a meeting with a local distributor to discuss business advancement. You can only take 4 items of the 15 items listed below, which four would you take?

  1. Notepad
  2. Phone charger
  3. Your smartphone
  4. Breath freshener
  5. Your business card
  6. File folder
  7. Pen
  8. Watch
  9. Laptop
  10. A sample of the bottled water
  11. A Book
  12. Hand lotion
  13. Cup of coffee
  14. Pencil
  15. Earphones
​Excellent Candidate Response
‘BlackStone Tutors 5 Step Approach to Prioritisation Tasks’
  1. Review the options available
  2. Identify your 4 preferred items/the ideal order to complete the tasks
  3. Explain why you have chosen these options/this order (making your explanations as specific as possible to the task, eg. Why some tasks are ranked highly)
  4. Explain why you did not choose the other options/why they are ranked lower
  5. Possible further mentions:
                If additional item/options were permitted, I would also consider taking….
                Alternatively, if the task were based in ………….I would prioritise taking……….
 
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I would choose to take my laptop, smartphone, business card and a sample of the bottled water.

  • I would take my laptop due to its multi-function potential. In additional to having useful business information, it also allows me to combine the functions of the notepad and pen into one single item. Hence, allowing me to note down any learning/action points from the meeting.
  • Similarly the sample of bottle water is essential given that it represents the product being manufactured and hence is key to the discussions, as well as being a potential hydration source should this be required.
  • My smartphone will be useful in case I need to call my employer during the meeting, or in case I need directions on getting to the place of the meeting beforehand.
  • My business card may also be useful to provide to the person I’m meeting, in order to make it easier for them to contact me following the meeting.
 
  • On the other hand, the pencil would likely not be needed, given that I have my laptop
  • Additionally, it may be unprofessional to attend a bilateral meeting with a single cup of coffee. The coffee may also ‘stay on my breath’, and whilst I would have liked to take the breath freshener, I had already chosen the maximum four permitted items.