Choice #2: Focus

In 2014, I was lost. On the outside, everything looked great. I was running the European Operations of a global tech company and was living large. But, inside, I didn’t know who I was or where I was going. This was true in both my personal and professional life. And because I was lost, I didn’t have a plan, and I couldn’t show up powerfully in the “day-in and day-out” of life.  

I have found this lack of focus is common today, even more common than the notorious distractions of notifications, news, and social media. It’s a global epidemic. When you don’t know who you are or where you’re going, anything beyond figuring that out is a distraction. And without that North Star, you can’t possibly have a good plan or be able to show up powerfully and prepared for the moments of your life.  

The leadership trap here is the temptation for distraction and complexity. And Choice #2 is Focus, which involves simplifying the complexity so that you can get absolutely clear and set your attention and intention 100% on what you want.   

Very simply, focus involves getting clear on four things. They are choices that must be made. Questions that must be answered:  

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1. The Identity Question: Who am I? 
   Asking this question helps you get clear on your strengths, weaknesses, and your purpose, for both your company and yourself.  

2. The Directional Question: Where am I going?
   This question gets you clear on where you are going, who you are becoming, and what it will look like when you get there. This question is also relevant for your company and you.  
3. The Planning Question: What’s my plan to get there?
   When you ask yourself this question, think about all of the short- and medium-term priorities, in both your business and personal life, that you are committing to focus on.
4. The Present Moment Question: What do I want to do right now?
   Use this question to identify the specific actions and habits you will build to execute your daily and weekly plan. This one is mainly for yourself. Everyone in your company is responsible for bringing the plan into their daily life and executing on it.   

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Once you answer these questions, you will have made the choices that will allow all other distractions to fall away. As that happens, you will gain the capacity and the confidence to battle all forms of complexity - in the world, in your business, and in your life.  

For your business, the EOS® tool that is most relevant here is the Vision/Traction Organizer® or V/TO®for short. 

The Clarity Break is a great tool for the fourth question - what do I want to do right now?  

The 10 Disciplines brings another great tool set, especially with Discipline #8: Prepare Every Night. The idea here is to plan your day the night before, visualize the plan, and then sleep on it so that when you wake up, you will perform at the highest level.  

Whatever tools you use, as you gain clarity, the law of attraction begins to work in your favor. You will start to show up more powerfully and more prepared. Soon, you’ll become clearer, more centered, and ready for whatever happens.  

As Jim Collins says, Focus is the hidden driver of excellence. Next week,  we will explore how these two choices, Humility and Focus, work together to create “The Way of Seeing,” which involves strengthening the mind to gain clear vision.  

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Until then, as Gino Wickman says, “Stay focused.”

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Big love, 

Philip