The Power of Focus
Yes, proud dad using a picture of one if his daughters. But her story is an example of how powerful focus can be.
About a year ago, our family visited Sea Turtle Inc., a small sea turtle rescue facility on South Padre Island, TX. It immediately had an impact on my daughter, and she and a friend decided that they wanted to help. In one year, these two girls have raised over $40,000 for this institution and they're still going.
What's so special about that? They're 10 years old and somehow raised that kind of coin for a cause most people have never thought once about.
How? They had focus. The goal was clear as day. Raise money so that Sea Turtle Inc could build a new facility to help more turtles and educate more people. In 20 words, they had a goal and a "why". In my past few consulting engagements I realize that most companies need 20,000 words to describe their goal and why.
But why is it that difficult to get down to 20 words? Because at every organization, the courage to say no, or not now, does not exist. But doing something half-assedly for everyone doesn't help your company. Doing 2 or 3 things really well does. Once complete, you have the bandwidth and plan to move on to the next 2 or 3.
The difficulty is in prioritization. Look at what you are being asked to support and create a simple Pareto. What adds the most value to the organization? In most organizations you will see that 20% of the work drives greater than 80% of the value. And if you can show that data, it is hard to refute why you need to focus there and not work on every pet project, program or business in the building.
Do yourself and your company a favor. Have someone not as close to your business review your plan and tell you what the focus is. What do they think you prioritized and does that make sense. Shameless plug for my consulting services, yes. But if not me, have your husband, wife, best friend or kids review your business plan. If they can't figure out what you are trying to accomplish, odds are you won't accomplish much.