Priority matters, while priorities muddle.
For the first 500 years of its existence, “priority” was only singular; it meant THE “first thing.”
It wasn’t until the 1900s the word became pluralized.1 With “priorities” elevating the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th most important things to the same level as the 1st, the power of the concept became diminished.
“Priorities” result in diluted focus and cognitive overload.
When everything’s a priority, nothing gets the deep attention it deserves.
To build a remarkable drink brand, you need singular clarity. Identify your true north, that one dominant priority, and ruthlessly pursue it.
A nod to Greg McKeown and his book Essentialism for calling my attention to this incredible etymological fact.
“Prioritize” didn’t become a verb until the second half of the 20th century. Meaning to “designate as worthy of priority,” it was apparently popularized during the 1972 U.S. presidential election. As recently as 1989, the Oxford English Dictionary described “prioritize” as “a word that at present sits uneasily in the language.”