Have you ever had multiple things going on, all high priority, all due at the same time? Or have you ever had just one thing that needed to get done, but it was boring and you were more interested in other work? Have you ever been part of a team where certain people seemed to find ways to stay busy but were unable to link their actions to actual results?
Focus is a key skill that is often missing from or misapplied in organizations and teams.
It is completely human to only focus on what we want to do. Did you know that our brains program themselves over the course of our lives to avoid situations and tasks that create feelings of stress? That means the moment we start not wanting to do something, our brain immediately starts telling us to move on to something better or easier. As we strive to maintain At an individual level this can be helpful. By recognizing that we need to take a break, we can intentionally pause difficult tasks and rest before coming back and finishing. But this can also be harmful. If you are unable to focus, you may struggle to complete a task or a project, or possibly leave the job incomplete.
At an organizational level focus works differently. Many companies have at some point struggled to adapt their strategy. For businesses eager to grow, it can be tempting to invest time and resources in efforts to capture market share or break into new segments. In the early 2000’s, Starbucks started to adopt a wider variety of beverages and sandwiches to grow their customer base, but by losing focus of their core customers, coffee drinkers, Starbucks ended up closing hundreds of stores across the US. Only by recapturing their focus were they able to recover and go on to achieve new growth. Microsoft went on a similar spree in the 2000’s and 2010’s, developing various products to compete with rival Apple (remember the Windows phone, or the Zune?). Microsoft struggled with an incoherent strategy for several years and struggled with internal chaos as various teams competed for resources. This continued until Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014 and helped develop a new strategy. Today Microsoft emphasizes cloud software, the Surface line of products, and of course it’s social networking site, LinkedIn. Without the ability to focus on an established strategy, both Starbucks and Microsoft may have continued to hurt themselves by chasing shiny new opportunities instead of focusing on what they were good at.
I’m not saying that companies should never attempt to pursue new avenues for growth. Many companies have achieved incredible success through identifying new lines of business. However, firms must be able to maintain strategic focus on their core customers and on competitive strengths even as they explore new markets or technologies to build the business further.
Another facet of focus is found within departments and smaller teams. I had an opportunity to work with an analytics team in late 2019 that found itself without a lot of strategic direction. The team was put together for the purpose of providing advanced analytics. This was a high performing group of individuals that was very disciplined in their approach to work and very dedicated to their leadership team. As their tools and capabilities developed, the leadership team began making more requests from the analysts. However, some of these requests ended with deliverables that were not used in decision making, but nonetheless created significant burden for the team. As time went on, despite the team maintaining a strong sense of discipline and pumping out numerous deliverables, the focus of the team did not improve, ultimately impacting the value this team was able to create within the organization. It’s critical that teams not mistake discipline for focus. Completing tasks and even delivering complex analysis can actually be a waste of resources if the work does not help move the organization towards executing on strategic goals. Lack of focus can create additional problems for teams and get in the way of opportunities to make meaningful impacts within teams and organizations.
So we know that focus is important, right? Here are some surprisingly simple ways to stay on target as you prioritize your efforts.
Set a reminder – possibly the easiest way to nudge focus into your work is to address it daily in your huddles or team meetings. As cheesy as it sounds, some companies have a creed that is shared once a week. In the same way that some people set specific alarms and reminders to achieve dietary or exercise goals, do the same thing with your organization. Having reminders is a common method for maintaining focus on your company’s strategy.
Build it into your culture – I’ve had the pleasure of working with leaders who were intentional about encouraging focus by routinely tying team, department, and company results back to strategy goals and objectives. If projects was proposed, but the team struggled to connect the project with the company’s vision and strategy, it would become immediately apparent. Changing culture and behavior can be difficult, but this is one that will pay huge dividends if you find that focus is missing from your company.
Hire/Promote it into your team – Another simple, but potentially expensive, way to sharpen your ability to focus is to bring in people that are already showing these behaviors. I’ve shared before that I am a firm believer of getting the right people on board, even if you’re not entirely sure what they are going to do. If you’re struggling to say no to opportunities that don’t contribute to your strategy, bringing on personalities that complement your own focus will improve your ability to execute on your goals.
Focus is difficult to master, especially in a culture that often equates rapid growth with success. However, focusing your strategy around what you do best, around who your best customers are and what you offer them will more likely lead to profitability and more sustainable growth. Don't let yourself or your company get too distracted.
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