A jack of all trades or a master of one?
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” — Alexander Graham Bell
The word “focus” is thrown around a lot and I even alluded to it two weeks ago in a newsletter when I wrote a little about the concept of “deep work”.
It is a concept that can be looked at from both the pov of an individual and at an organisational level.
I want to view it right now from more of a business or organisational point of view.
The substack “Existential Espresso” written by the Recovering Overthinker wrote a very interesting article about focus a few days ago that looks at it from more of the individual perspective.
The individual and organisational views are constantly intertwined and intermingle like a double helix and are interdependent on one another.
The individual is the micro, the organisation the macro.
The point of focus is to bring attention to a single or small area and because of the concentration of the attention it increases the effectiveness of that work.
Efficiency within an organisation usually boils down to the people within the business having a lack of focus.
Instead of having one key area of focus, they are partially covering multiple areas. All of which are getting the minimum viable attention.
This way of working then tends to permeate through the business and busywork becomes a proxy for efficient work.
Instead of five people within a department having one key focus each, all five carry a fifth of the overall workload splitting each task between the group.
This may seem democratic and fair but in reality it’s inefficient and costly.
"Waste is a crime. We must use our resources wisely." - Kiichiro Toyoda (Founder of Toyota)
The story of the Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota is a great example of focus.
In the post World War II years, Toyota was a small car manufacturer but it didn’t have the financial capacity or the resources to compete with the much larger U.S. companies such as Ford and General Motors.
They had to approach things differently and in order to be able to do so, they had to decide where to focus their resources.
Their approach led to the creation of the Toyota Production System (TPS) via the Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing process.
This system meant they didn’t have to warehouse large quantities of parts that involved large expenditure, their system meant that they ordered the parts they needed once they received the order.
They couldn’t compete at mass production in the same fashion as their U.S. counterparts so they developed and perfected their own system that ensured they had exactly what they needed, when they needed it.
It was an example of focusing on what they had and could do instead of on what they couldn’t.
When it comes to your own life or business, the question you must ask yourself is what am I focusing on and is it the best use of my time and resources?
Thoughts & Ideas…
Learn to say little
If you read biographies of many famous founders of the past you tend to see similar traits.
Not surprising as these are individuals who have risen up from all sorts of backgrounds to dominate their business, industry or even create new industries.
One trait of many of them that has caught my attention is their ability to keep silent when it comes to their business and what they are working on.
They don’t make their plans known or draw attention to their successes.
Their goals aren’t exactly clear and you don’t know about their wins.
An inability to keep your mouth closed draws the attention of others.
Learn to hold your cards close to your chest when in business.
I’m not saying lie to colleagues and partners but the rest of the world doesn’t need to know your plans or how well your business is doing.
All that does is simply invite begrudgery and competition.
As Peter Thiel said, “If you have a secret, you should keep it a secret.”
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“If you’re a friend to everybody, you’re an enemy to yourself.” - Mike Tyson
You cannot please everyone.
In trying to do so, you won’t just be letting others down but you will also be neglecting your own well-being.
Don’t offer to do something in order to seem nice in the hope your offer won’t be accepted.
Don’t do something expecting praise and then feel let down when none comes.
Make sure what you are doing is for the right reasons.
Help others but do it because you want to help.
Obligation is a double-edged sword.
If you feel an obligation to be there for people you care for and go the extra mile when they need your help, good.
If you are doing something or attending something you really don’t want to because you feel like you have to then you have it wrong.
You’re making the wrong kind of sacrifices and for the wrong reasons.
Sacrifice is a part of life but it needs to come from the right place and be for the right reasons.
Otherwise, you suffer and as a result, become resentful and bitter.
Steve Jobs said it best when speaking about leaders and the need to be able to be ok with upsetting others or at saying no:
"If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader—sell ice cream."
Food for thought…
“Your business grows to the extent that you do.” - Alex Hormozi
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"Big people grow; small people swell." - Barnett Helzberg
(From episode #279 of the Founder Podcast)
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"Without standards, there can be no improvement." - Taiichi Ohno
Book Recommendation…
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
One of the first real titans of business, the Standard Oil founder changed the landscape of the U.S. and global Oil industry. After retiring, he turned his attention and his vast fortune to philanthropy.
Although he was a highly controversial figure during his lifetime (and even to this day), there is no doubt that there are lessons to be learned in reading the story of John D’s life.
