Leadership Thought #431 – FOCUS, Focus, focus

If I had to pick one thing that inhibits success the most among small business and nonprofit leaders, I would say it is a lack of sustained focus. By the very nature of being entrepreneurs, they tend to be very opportunistic. Entrepreneurs often perceive business opportunities everywhere. Their mindset is that every problem has a solution and the only obstacle to progress is a lack of effort. Unfortunately, this belief is only partially true. Yes, every problem does have a solution, but the effort needs to be put forth by the right people with the right plan. It is not merely a question of resources, attention, and willingness to put forth effort. Great leaders and strong businesses that focus on the wrong opportunities or problems typically achieve mediocrity at best. At worst, this distracts their true potential for greatness by limiting their attention on what they should be doing in the first place. It also creates business vulnerabilities that should never have existed.

If everything becomes a priority or if priorities are constantly shifting, then nothing truly is a priority. No one business or individual is capable of being effective at everything. Time is also finite, and how we allocate our resources within this universal constraint is critical. Often, our biggest asset is our people, and most employees are easily distracted and/or overwhelmed on a daily basis. One of the primary responsibilities of a leader is to keep their people focused on what is most important. In his famous book, “Good to Great,” Jim Collins discusses success as an intersection of three key elements: your passion, your talent, and a clear understanding of your economic denominator. I’ve always liked this mode of thinking. To do something well, you must be passionate about it, have the right skills, and it must fit your economic model. There are many things we could do that satisfy one or even two of these criteria, but to be great at something, you need to nail all three.

I encourage my clients to prioritize their tasks effectively by minimizing the number of organizational priorities using carefully thought-through screening criteria that are consistently applied. The goal is to keep the organization diligently focused on these few critical items through successful completion. Making good decisions and then ensuring effective execution is what leadership is all about. One of my colleagues used to advise his clients to focus on their “Big Three.” I prefer no more than 3-5 key business initiatives to be in place at any one time. The smaller the company, the fewer priorities it can handle.

As a leader, you should constantly strive to build a solid foundation upon which the organization can thrive and grow. And, a foundation is only ever as good as its engineering. The most important decisions leaders must make are about what to say “no” to. By doing this, you allow the organization to build the breadth and depth of requisite capacity to share the load and distribute the weight of responsibility evenly. Unfortunately, it’s much easier for the typical entrepreneur to say “yes” much more often than he/she should. It is a knee-jerk reaction. As a result, their foundation begins to exhibit cracks, and they end up struggling to maintain performance under the weight of their own making.

When properly applied, focus is liberating. The best way to combat complexity is always with simplicity. Far too many leaders unnecessarily complicate their business model. Success shouldn’t always be about struggle. When things are going right, it should feel comparatively easy. I tell my clients this all the time, and they don’t believe me until they begin to operate with sustained focus, and it inevitably happens. Another colleague of mine, who has a remarkable business track record, repeatedly tells me that one of the first signs of an underperforming leader is that he/she is working too hard at too many things and their life is entirely out of balance. Sadly, these individuals tend to become activity junkies, pursuing multiple and different directions without any clear direction or purpose. The struggle has become more about what defines them than the result.

If history has taught us anything, it is the potential power of a small group of focused, dedicated, and aligned individuals who share a common purpose. Focus, focus, focus, especially when it is hard, and good things will happen.

Related articles

• Why Passion Is Not Enough…You Need This, Too (forbes.com)
• Drucker, Jobs and Musk on Focus (laf.ee)
• Purpose, plan, people, and priorities: there can be no leadership without them – Part 2 (denisgmclaughlin.com)
• 5 Bad Habits Entrepreneurs Fall Prey To (under30ceo.com)
• Entrepreneurial Distraction Disorder (EDD)—It’s a Gift (business2community.com)
• A Book in 5 Minutes: The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs (tech.co)
• 5 Steps To Go From Idea Overwhelm To Focused Action (microbusinesshub.co.uk)