Less Distractions, More Focus is the Successful Entrepreneur’s 12th Man
“We the people have no excuse for starry-eyed sycophantic group-think in the Information Age. Knowledge is but a fingertip away.”
― Tiffany Madison
The Excess Information Age for Entrepreneurs
Access to relevant information is important to the success of an entrepreneur and especially vital for small businesses in the early stages. Market research provides the insights entrepreneurs need to better understand the market for their products and services. Google, Duck Duck Go and other search engines provide a digital pathway to unlimited information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at our finger tips.
Fact: The term “information overload” was coined by social scientist Bertram Myron Gross, who used it to describe a phenomenon wherein a system lacks the capability to process a large volume of data.
Entrepreneurs are challenged daily, making one decision following another and in some cases, decisions that could determine the company’s long term success. Founders are inundated with endless streams of information and real time data updates available at all times. It’s easy for entrepreneurs to get bogged down in minutiae and further complicate decision-making processes in their company.
The Art of Deep Focus
Business owners are naturally busy and quite often don’t have additional labor support, so out of necessity they feel the need to multitask. The frenzied pace of the startup environment, challenges every entrepreneur to create that much needed time for deep focus on growing their business. The early stages of business development can be chaotic and it is critical that entrepreneurs prioritize strategies to address the biggest constraints to growth.
Fact: 98% of people don’t multitask very well and on top of that studies show multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully,” Steve Jobs. This provides context for entrepreneurs to better understand the importance of having a clear focus and the clarity it provides in decision making.
Avoid “The Minutiae Trap”
“The Minutiae Trap” refers to the tendency for entrepreneurs to get caught up in inconsequential tasks disconnected from activities that drive growth in the company. Quite often business owners fall for the trap of prioritizing their perceived “immediate needs” over high value activities that strengthen the venture. As a general rule, 80% of the company’s resources and time, should be allocated to overcoming the biggest challenges to growth.
The ability to feed the focus, and starve the distraction is imperative for entrepreneurs to build a sustainable business. Here are 5 Strategies that help provide a road map for entrepreneurs to align a strategy with actions that will strengthen business ventures.
Set Clear Business Goals
Setting clear and well defined business goals, provide the framework for the vision of entrepreneurs to come to life. Starting or running a business requires a clear set of consistently updated goals in order to successfully achieve company objectives. Goal setting can be a challenge, especially for new entrepreneurs, and it starts with figuring out how to track what drives sales also know as — key performance indicators.
Develop Key Performance Indicators
Key performance indicators (KPI) are data points that measure performance. KPI’s are normally associated with goals, company objectives or used to measure success of new products. For example, if you own a coffee shop, one of the key performance indicators would involve tracking number of cups of coffee sold each day. If this number increases weekly, its a clear indicator that your business is growing. The KPI’s will then lead you to build activities to support their achievement.
Develop a System to Prioritize High Value Activities
High value activities (HVA) refer to any activity that improves the value of products and services to customers, or drives sales growth. Founders are naturally creative and full of ideas, but this could lead to distraction from the key actions that contribute to a successful business. Focus on developing a concise and clear system that prioritizes high value activities. Now that you have a process in place, organizational discipline is key. As a founder, you must follow up on the execution of the high value activities (they should be measured and recapped to the team for full engagement) in your company.
Align High Value Activities With Goals and Benchmarks
Aligning the activities and tasks of your company with the goals and benchmarks lay the foundation for a successful venture. This correlation of actions tied to revenue generating activities will ensure that your business is prioritizing the right things. The number 2 reason that startups fail is because they run out of resources, this circumstance, is mostly tied to not committing the right action at the right time.
Build a “Focus on the Now” Culture
Often business owners get distracted by what’s next, planning for future growth or the next big opportunity in the market. It is important that founders “stay in the present” with 100% focus on developing a sustainable business model. Building a “Focus on the Now” culture provides the structure to keep the business aligned with the activities that promote growth.
