Focus, Focus, Focus
Here is a well written article on “focus”… well, that’s the point of it, but it’s about Microsoft’s lack of it.
In many ways I agree with the point of the article, Microsoft is a bit fragmented. While I also think that some of the efforts he describes as tangental, actually work out quite well. I’ve just jumped into the whole XBOX world of games, media center functionality and movie downloads, and I’m finding it is a very compelling experience.
If I bring this back around to me and my experiences, “focus” is definitely something that I’d like more of. 8-) Every few days/weeks I stop myself and evaluate the my activities and how they support my high-level life goals… surprisingly (or not surprisingly) I often find I’m spending too much time on low-value or tangental efforts. It’s a good “reset” of my efforts, focusing me in on what I really want to accomplish.
I also have to do that with my team’s project list… a recent count of non-client-related, internal efforts came up with over 20 projects!!! Wow, talk about lack of focus… I’m going to try to trim them down some so each person has no more that 2-3 efforts outside of client work. I think it’ll make us much more productive and help us focus.
What can you or or project team cut to enhance your focus?
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Great post. Kudos on stopping regularly to examine how your activities are furthering your company’s strategic goals. Few people do. One additional practice that my clients find invaluable is asking those same questions while staring into the cold, hard eyes of their financials once per month and comparing actual financial performance to forecast. Doing that brings them face-to-face with the cumulative effects of their day-to-day decisions. It can be a pretty sobering experience, which, of course, is the point.