Why Great Leaders Need a “To Don’t” List with Liz Hutson of EGH, LLC 5-20-26

Summary

Podcast Summary: Becker Business

Episode: Why Great Leaders Need a “To Don’t” List with Liz Hutson of EGH, LLC
Date: May 20, 2026
Host: Chanel Bunger (for Scott Becker)
Guest: Liz Hutson, Principal Consultant & Owner, EGH, LLC

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into a frequently overlooked yet critical tool for effective leadership: the “to don’t” list. Liz Hutson of EGH, LLC breaks down why it’s essential for leaders—especially those navigating complex integrations and high-stakes environments in private equity and healthcare—not only to focus on what needs to be done, but also to deliberately decide what not to do. The conversation blends practical frameworks with candid insights for organizational leaders, project managers, and ambitious professionals.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Liz Hutson & Her Expertise

• [01:20] Liz introduces herself as the founder and principal consultant of EGH, LLC, a firm focusing on healthcare products and services within the private equity space.

2. The Power of a “To Don’t” List

• [01:47] Liz highlights the limits of traditional to-do lists, especially in pressure-cooker integrations:
  • Integrations involve an “urgent mountain of work across processes, people, and communications—all needing to be done yesterday.”
  • Teams often think progress means tackling everything at once, but this “actually slows a lot of things down.”
  • Notable Quote [02:29]:

    "Everybody talks about that to do list. Equally as important, if not more important, is the to don't list, because that's where the real magic is." – Liz Hutson

• Emphasizes the “real magic” happens when teams decide what not to focus on right now.

3. Three-Step Framework for Creating a “To Don’t” List

Step 1: Start With the End in Mind

• [03:10] Liz’s foundational mantra for any project, meeting, or conversation.
  • “Define success very specifically and anchor on that idea.”

Step 2: Brainstorm Everything

• “Get it all out of your head and onto the paper. Capture everything… just let that stream of consciousness come out.”
  • Use whiteboards, post-its, or any visual aid for the process.

Step 3: Whittle Down to the Critical Path

• Filter everything brainstormed through the lens of the desired outcome.

  • [04:40] “It’s not just prioritization… It’s really about elimination.”
  • Shift from putting things in order of importance to actually removing lower-impact tasks.
  • “When we build the to do and the to don’t list, it actually really freeing—it brings clarity for the leadership team…speeds up decision making…reduces the noise…”

• Summary By Chanel [06:11]:

  “You start with the end in mind, and then once that goal is clear, you brainstorm on what needs to be done and then bring it all home by whittling it down to find that critical path.”

4. Applying the “To Don’t” List Beyond Business

• [06:29] Liz notes:
  • The concept applies equally to personal and career goals.
  • Success comes from discipline in avoiding distractions, not just diligent execution.
  • Notable Quote [06:40]:

    “If you’re clear on where you’re trying to go and you’re disciplined to get rid of those distractions and things that keep you off course, you dramatically increase your chances of success.” – Liz Hutson

  • Liz emphasizes the freedom and speed this selective focus enables, even if saying ‘no’ is hard:

    “I go faster, I go further when I can just lean in on a couple few things.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the satisfaction of lists [02:14]:

  “Sometimes I'll even write things down that I've already finished just so I can cross it off the list, because there's something so satisfying about that.” – Liz Hutson

• On overcoming ‘do it all’ mentality [04:10]:

  “It's hard to come up with that to don't list. For me, I will tell you, that is a difficult thing to do.”

• On the purpose and power of the to don’t list [04:55]:

  “You want to actually eliminate things from that list and put them on the to don’t list. Take the things off that list that don’t need to be done. And it’s not to say it’s never going to happen. It’s just not going to happen right now.” – Liz Hutson

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:20] Liz Hutson introduces herself and her consulting focus.
• [01:47] Why a to don’t list is as vital as a to do list.
• [03:10] Three-step method for using to don’t lists (Start with the end, brainstorm, eliminate).
• [04:40] The importance of elimination vs. mere prioritization.
• [06:11] Recap of the framework.
• [06:29] Extending the principle to life and career; benefits of disciplined focus.

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Conclusion & Takeaways

• A “to don’t” list isn’t a luxury—it’s a powerful leadership tool to cut through noise, maintain clarity, and accelerate progress in complex, high-pressure settings.
• The discipline of focusing only on what matters most truly sets great leaders apart.
• This methodology benefits individuals beyond business projects—impacting careers, goals, and everyday life.

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End of Summary.

Transcript

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[Chanel Bunger]

Hello and welcome to the Becker Private Equity and the Becker Business Podcast. My name is Chanel Bunger and today I'm excited to speak with regular guest Liz Hudson, Principal consultant and Owner, EGH llc, who joins us today to discuss one of the biggest challenges leaders face deciding what not to do. Liz, thank you as always for joining me. Could you get us started out by giving a brief introduction for listeners who may not be acquainted with you yet?

[Liz Hudson]

Absolutely. Chanel, great to talk with you. Yes, I am Liz Hudson. I'm the founder and principal consultants of EGH LLC and we're an organization that focuses on healthcare products and services and we are primarily in the private equity space.

[Chanel Bunger]

Perfect. Thank you so much for the introduction. And now could you get us started out by giving us an overview of why you believe a to don't list is just as important as a traditional to do list?

[Liz Hudson]

Absolutely. So let's talk at the beginning of a project and I'm going to focus in on integrations because that's always me and my team. We spend a lot of our time integrations where we're bringing two or more companies together. There's a lot of work that needs to be done, a mountain of work that needs to be done between systems, processes, people, communications. It all needs to be done and it all needs to be done yesterday. It's all urgent. And I think oftentimes teams think that progress means doing all of it at once. But actually it slows a lot of things down and inevitably one of the most critical mistakes that teams make is taking on too many things at the same time. And listen, don't get me wrong, I love a good to do list. Sometimes I'll even write things down that I've already finished just so I can cross it off the list because there's something so satisfying about that. But to your point and what you kind of shared right at the beginning, we have a to do list. And everybody talks about that to do list equally. As important, if not more important, is the to don't list because that's where the real magic is. That's where you decide what you're not going to focus on right now.

[Chanel Bunger]

Absolutely. And now that we have the overview, could you walk us through it step by step?

[Liz Hudson]

Yeah. I'll break it down into three steps because I think it can be challenging, especially for people who are very driven, they're go getters, they want this project to be super successful. It's hard to come up with that to don't list for me. I will tell you that is a difficult thing to do. But what I found to be helpful is these three steps. So we'll start off with step number one. Step number one is start with the end in mind. If you know me, if you know my team, you know that this is a critical mantra. It is foundational to everything that we do. Whether it's a project, whether it's a meeting, whether it's a relationship, a conversation, whatever it is. You always want to start with the end in mind. And what I mean by that is you want to think about where is it that you're trying to go, have that vision, have that picture of that, define success very specifically and anchor on that idea. What is it that we're really trying to achieve? So that's the first step, it's the second. Start with the end in mind. And then from there that's when you can start to just brainstorm everything that needs to be done, write it all down, bring in the subject matter experts, get it all out of your head and onto the paper. Capture everything, right? Just go ahead and just let that stream of consciousness come out of you. Put it up on a whiteboard or with post its or whatever. Just put everything down that's there. And, and then the third and final step, and this is where the to don't list comes into play, is you're going to whittle down all that you just brainstormed in the filter of that end in mind. So if you have that start with the end in mind and you've got all this stuff now you can really focus on what is your critical path, how do you get there, Kind of filter through all the noise, all the stuff what are the things that actually need to be done? And what are some things that are just nice to have? And at the end of the day, Chanel, it's not just prioritization. It's not taking the hundred things and saying these 10 things go first, and then this bucket of things comes next, and then this last thing comes last. It's really about elimination. You want to actually eliminate things from that list and put them on the to don't list, take the things off that list that don't need to be done. And it's not to say that it's never going to happen. It's just to say that it's not going to happen right now. And when we do this, well, when we build the to do and the to don't list, it's actually really freeing. It brings clarity for the leadership team, for the working team, and it actually speeds up decision making and it reduces the noise, it reduces the confusion where you can just lean in and say, this is the one thing that I have to do. This is my critical path to getting there, and I'm going to protect that with my to don't list.

[Chanel Bunger]

I love that. And just to summarize those points for listeners, you start with the end in mind, and then once that goal is clear, you brainstorm on what needs to be done and then bring it all home by whittling it down to find that critical path. Liz, I love that. And is there anything else that listeners should know?

[Liz Hudson]

Yeah, maybe just one. One big thing is, you know, while I'm talking about this in the context of big projects like company integr integration, I think this is equally true for life in career goals and personal goals. It's the same principle. If you're clear on where you're trying to go and you're disciplined to get rid of those distractions and things that keep you off course, you dramatically increase your chances of success. I have found this to be true in my life, in my work. And I'm not saying it's easy. It's not easy because I always want to do everything at the same time. But I have found that I go faster, I go further when I can just lean in on a couple few things.

[Chanel Bunger]

Love it. Well, Liz, I want to thank you, as always, for joining me today and for sharing your insights on the Becker Private Equity and the Becker Business podcast. Thank you so much.

[Liz Hudson]

Thanks, Chanel. Great to talk with you.

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