We all want to be a part of successful projects. We all especially want those successes to come easily and quickly. Of course, if it were simple to get there, we wouldn’t want it as much.Â
What if we told you it may be possible to get some big wins without monumental effort in business? Depending on who you are, there may be some victories hiding in plain sight.
These are your low hanging fruit. But what exactly does that mean? And how do you find them? Grab your fruit basket; itâs time to go picking. đđđđđ
Summary
Low hanging fruit is the easiest problem to solve within a larger group. For example, if you’re looking to automate your internal systems, the low hanging fruit would be the easiest process to automate. It’s important to find low hanging fruit, because these issues usually take few resources to fix, and gives you a reasonable benefit.
You can find Low Hanging Fruit by reviewing analytics, looking for bottlenecks, looking from a step back, and asking your team.
Side note: you shouldn’t only focus on low hanging fruit. It’s a great place to start, but you’re only putting out fires (not innovating or growing).
What is Low Hanging Fruit, and Why is it Important?
Low Hanging Fruit is a term that describes any action that you can do quickly and easily to get to a solution. Usually, this means that the low hanging fruit is the easiest problem you can solve. With few needed resources, minimal risk, and decent benefit, Low Hanging Fruit seems like the perfect answer.Â
Itâs important to address low hanging fruit, as itâs usually there thanks to the status quo. If you rely on whatâs always been because itâs âalways been done that way,â youâll fall behind rather than stay in the race. By doing some introspection on your business, you may be able to make quick changes that keep you afloat.Â
And what are the benefits of addressing low hanging fruit? If you decide to disrupt yourself a little bit, there are many benefits, including, but not limited to:
- Reaching targets more quickly
- Making rapid (but calculated) judgments
- Increasing your number of sales
- Having a consistent flow of leads
- Short-term rapid growth
However, itâs important to remember that youâll need a mix of the lows and highs; if you only do whatâs easy, youâll never get out of your comfort zone. While this allows you to survive, you wonât be able to thrive.Â

How do you Find Low Hanging Fruit?
Now that youâve got a step-stool and bucket, itâs time to figure out how youâre getting the fruit off the trees. How do you determine what the low hanging fruit in your organization is, and which to tackle first?
Start capturing analytics dataÂ
The best thing you can do is backup a decision with evidence. When you go to make choices, itâs better to have data on whatâs best as opposed to only using opinions. Before you can go out on your low-fruit journey, youâll need to have the data collected. Start capturing information now, so that you can have everything you need when you go hunting.Â
Bottleneck analysis
Think about your current process at work: what activity takes you and your team the longest? If this task is important to your business and several people do it several times a day, it may be your best bet to start there. Find the biggest bottleneck, and address issues there.Â
Related Article: The Ugly Realities of Software DevelopmentÂ
Think like a startup
Now we donât mean start over from the beginning of your organization. When trying to find things that can easily be fixed, youâll want to have the open-mind of a new founder. This means being lean, thinking innovatively, not being afraid of mistakes, and stepping outside of your comfort zone. Once youâre in a new mindset, youâll be able to look at your issues from a new light.
Just ask
Sounds too easy, right? But finding your easiest problems to solve can be as simple as asking your groups what issues they have. Ask your team what the most tedious and time-consuming part of their day is. Ask customers what they like and donât like about working with you. Talk to other industry-members about issues theyâve addressed. By hearing from others, youâll be able to see whatâs affecting the most people.Â
Examples of Low Hanging Fruit
But why do all that work we just mentioned when we can just tell you some examples! đ Weâre kidding of course; youâll need to do your own research to find our whatâs best for you. However, It doesnât hurt to get the ball rolling and see what others have done.

Conclusion
Low hanging fruit is any solution that you can quickly and easily implement. Itâs important to address these things, as they can be the problems that drag you under.Â
You can find low hanging fruit by doing your research: gather data, talk to your stakeholders, and think outside the box.Â
Whether you like Spring strawberries, Summer watermelon, or Fall apples, addressing your easiest issues are in season all year long. So get on the tractor, and bring in that produce! đ