Do Less, Then Obsess

In 1911, Roald Amundsen won the race to be the first person to reach the South Pole. This was also attempted by another group of explorers - Robert Falcon Scott and his team who arrived at the pole to find the Norwegian flag flying. 

On the return leg, they were caught in the encroaching winter blizzard, falling a few miles short of safety and perishing in the Antarctic snow and dark.

Amundsen’s success came down to his obsessive focus on using only dogs and sleds to transport his team. Scott was better resourced: he had raised more money, had a larger crew, and set off with multiple options, including motorised sleds, ponies and dogs.

But the complexity of Scott's approach proved fatal. The different British cohorts had to set off at different times and try to co-ordinate their speed. Amundsen, who had concentrated on getting the best dogs, the best handlers and the best training, was far quicker. By the time Amundsen reached the pole, he was more than 300 miles ahead.

Amundsen had chosen one method and mastered it. He had done less, then obsessed.

Professor Hansen, author of the book Great at Work studied the performance of 5,000 people and discovered that those who pursued a strategy of “do less, then obsess” ranked 25 percentage points higher than those who did not embrace the practice.

So let's keep our activities simple and laser-focussed for positive results.