How To Focus In Business: The Secrets From The Worlds Most Effective Entrepreneurs

It’s one of the biggest problems entrepreneurs face. It causes more companies to struggle financially than almost anything else. It’s HOW TO FOCUS, especially in business.

Entrepreneurs can get so busy doing everything, that they don’t do anything particularly well. Then they brag about it. One of the biggest myths in business is that multi-tasking is worthwhile.

If you studied economics you’d learn that being a specialist can be really helpful. Most countries are specialists in one area when it comes to trading. The Germans are known for making great cars. The Chinese are known for making clothes. And the British for professional services.

In Britain, for example, we can’t grow Banana plants. But even if we could, we might still be better off exporting them from Ecuador.

Why?

Because we don’t have the land mass (specifically across our south coast) to produce the amount of Bananas that the demand in the UK dictates.

The same is true in sports.

Triathlon world record holder Alistair Brownlee has won 2 Olympic golds and 4 world championships.

He’s one of the best Triathlon athletes in history.

The triathlon is made up of 3 disciplines.

Swimming.

Cycling.

And running.

But if you compare Alistair’s best pace in any of the disciplines to the best in the world for those individual disciplines… he wouldn’t be as competitive.

In fact, in some instances, he’d struggle to qualify for the Olympics.

Never mind win 2 Olympic golds!

Because simply put, when we split our focus, we lose some effectiveness.

As a business owner, you need to know a little bit about everything.

And that can cause problems with focus.

So let’s take a look at how we get around our focus issues and what you can do about it.

 

The Biggest Chokehold On Any Business

What exactly is the biggest chokehold on any business?

The mindset of the business owner.

You see, the business is always a direct reflection of its owner.

If the business owner is strategic, effective, and great at marketing… chances are the business will have lots of leads and new customers.

But if the owner is a bit grumpy and doesn’t like people…

The chances are that the whole business will struggle with management, leadership, and even customer relationships.

After all, life is a mirror.

So when the business owner is struggling with their mindset.

The business can often suffer too.

And if the business owner is feeling cautious…

The business will feel that and likely stagnate.

So what does all this mean and what can you do about it?

Well, there are 2 things to consider based on the discussion about focus and generalists v specialists.

And how the mindset of the business owner is the chokehold on any business.

It means that being a generalist can cause a business to grow slowly.

And that if the business owner’s mindset isn’t on point… it can cause the business to implode.

 

 

Steve Jobs: How To Focus In Business

In 1985, the unthinkable happened.

Steve Jobs, founder, CEO, and owner of a small company called Apple was fired.

That’s right.

Fired from his own company.

But why was he fired?

It’s pretty simple actually.

He wasn’t a very good CEO.

So off Steve went.

And thought about what he could do next.

Luckily, he had another little company that he owned.

It was called Pixar.

So off Steve went to work at his other company.

But they were much smaller.

In fact, they hadn’t even started to make money yet.

As it turns out, Steve was bankrolling the company and had invested millions into it.

But here’s where the magic happened.

Steve and his team were all focused on getting their first film completed.

The film was called ‘Toy Story’.

And here’s the beautiful bit.

Every single person…

in the whole business

…was focused on Toy Story.

They had NOTHING else going on.

So the marketing director… his sole focus was Toy Story.

The finance director… Toy Story.

What about the animators… Toy Story.

And Steve Jobs, you guessed it… Toy Story.

But what this sole focus did, was give the business complete clarity and an unrivaled focus.

And what happened next?

Toy Story came out, and it was a record-breaking… monster success!

But what did everyone in the business focus on next?

The next film… A Bugs Life

A few years later, it made it to the big screen…

And it was another huge success.

Then Toy Story 2.

Another huge success.

The growth was insane.

Eventually, Steve Jobs sold the company to Disney for $7.4 billion.

And then moved on to his next project.

He built a company called NeXT, Inc.

It was an American technology company that made computer workstations for higher education and businesses.

And why did he start this company?

Because it was a product that Apple desperately needed.

So he offered to sell it to them.

And they wanted it.

But Steve had one condition.

They made him the CEO again.

 

Why Did Steve Get Fired?

But why did he actually get fired?

He wasn’t a very good CEO at the time.

But why not?

And what did he learn at Pixar that made him become a great CEO.

You might have already guessed it.

But the skill that Steve picked up…

Was FOCUS.

When he was fired from Apple, they had 116 products.

When he came back, he stripped them all the way back.

And they were left with just 11 products.

Then Steve and his whole team started to focus on one thing at a time as he had done with Toy Story.

So what was his first project and ‘Toy Story’ at Apple when he returned?

The iPod.

It took 2 years of relentless focus.

But when it dropped…

It was a HUGE success.

What was Apple’s next project?

The iPhone.

And it changed the whole world.

After that?

The iPad.

Which also exploded!

And Apple’s fortunes changed massively when Steve returned and they started working on what matters most.

They become the first company to reach a TRILLION dollar valuation.

And all because Steve Jobs learnt the power of focus and changed his mindset.

 

 

The One Thing

 

When you chase 2 rabbits, you won’t catch either.

But instead, when you learn how to focus in business on ‘one thing’, anything is possible.

People can achieve extraordinary results in their personal and professional lives when they stay focused.

And in business, profits can go through the roof.

The importance of prioritising and concentrating on the most significant task at hand can’t be understated.

Trying to do too many things at once can lead to distraction.

Which means decreased productivity, and ultimately, failure.

Instead, identify the one thing that matters most and dedicate your time and energy to it.

A great tool to use to find out what your ‘one thing’ should be is the “Focusing Question.”

The question is, “What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

By answering that question, you can identify your top priority and align your efforts to it.

 

It leaves you to focus on that one thing and leave everything else until later.

Especially if nailing that one thing will help you in every area anyway.

Focus can help with all aspects of life, including work, personal relationships, health, and productivity.

When you get this right it will help you to overcome distractions, prioritise your time, and commit to the pursuit of your most important goals.

And when you can become that focused.

The whole game changes.

 

Summary – How To Focus In Business

Focus is everything.

When you try to multi-task, your performance diminishes.

And that’s why lots of different countries specialise in one area.

Like the Germans with their cars.

The Chinese with their clothes.

And Ecuador with bananas.

When one of us is more efficient.

Things improve for everyone. 

But in order to be so efficient…

…you have to be willing to say no to things.

What things?

That’s where the focusing question comes in.

It helps you get clear on what your ‘one thing’ should be so that you can drill down and focus.

Just like Steve Jobs did.

And we know what a difference it made to him and Apple.