How to Focus Your Business and Make More Money

Most of us are totally unaware of how much our lack of focus impacts our lives and our businesses yet the impact is huge!

Among many things, lack of focus:

  • Damages relationships
  • Results in missing sales opportunities
  • Increases our cost of doing business
  • Derails us from our vision
  • Impacts our ability to achieve goals
  • Results in increased work hours and workload

Essentially, lack of focus is, at best, a drag on our business and, at worst, will bring our business to its knees!

I think all of us can recall a time in our lives and/or businesses when our lack of focus cost us something. If not, maybe some of these examples will jog your memories!

  • Lets start with all of the texting and driving incidents . . .
  • And then there were the commercial pilots a few years ago who overflew the destination airport by over 30 minutes because they were checking out a new laptop while they were flying!
  • What about that weekly business meeting where attendees are texting, answering phone calls, surfing the web, trading stocks, and doing everything but engaging and focusing.
  • Employees who spend time on social media, texting, or surfing the web instead of focusing on their work

This list could go on and on!

How much money is the lack of focus costing you and your business? How much more money could your business be making if you were able to implement a culture where focus is critical?

A Tool to Increase Focus

Quite a few years ago I met Les Hewitt, the author of The Power of Focus. I attended a number of his workshops and purchased his books and other materials. More importantly, rather that just reading and learning about them, I put his “focus concepts” to work!

In a nutshell, Hewitt recommends that you restructure your life and business so that you clearly understand:

  1. Your strengths
  2. The strengths of your staff
  3. The difference between “stuff” that needs to get done versus strategically important activity
  4. Strategic direction and objectives for your business
  5. The difference between short term and long term business objectives
  6. Life consists of more than work and career goals. You need to balance your goals and activities appropriately between:
    • business/career
    • relationships/family
    • health and wellness
    • Financial
    • Personal
    • Fun time
    • and giving back

Rather than to go into each of these in detail (buy the book to get more information and ideas), I am going to introduce you to a tool that Hewitt describes in the book. I converted his idea into an MS Excel template that you can download from Business Tools tab on my website (look for “Focus” located in the “Vision/Mission Tools” section).

A screen shot from the tool is shown below. It requires you to:

  1. Identify your top three strengths
  2. Determine your short term and long term business objectives
  3. Decide how you can leverage your strengths most effectively to contribute to these business objectives
  4. Dedicate 80% of your work day to leveraging your strengths into the short term and long term business objectives
  5. Spend only 20% of your work day doing administration tasks
  6. Pick your top three priorities for the week
  7. Allocate time and focus to the other areas of life like, relationships and health and wellness.
  8. Select a learning target for the week
  9. Send a thank you note each week to someone who has made an impact in your life, career, or business
  10. Review and update the form each week.

Understand that a simple tool like this will not change your life or how your business operates. Rather, you must adopt a focus mindset and then incorporate it into your whole business!

Take Action

Firstly, set some time aside in your calendar this week to start building focus in our life and in your business. Then do some strategic planning. Use this tool to really focus on your strengths and to identify exactly what you need to get done to be as productive and effective as possible.

Furthermore, make sure that you have a proper balance across all areas of your life . . . don’t just focus on your business or career! Carve out time for your family, your health, your continuing education, some time for fun, time for financial planning, and just time alone!

Don’t let the lack of focus in your business continue to flush your money down the drain! Download the MS Excel version of the tool and make some positive changes today!

Finally, take a look at the following related articles:

 

No horse ever gets anywhere until he is harnessed, no steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined, no Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled, and no life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.” Harry Emerson Fosdick

 

What experiences do you have with lack of focus in your business? Leave your comments below!

 

Download a free copy of my new Ebook: 12 Steps to Business Transformation. If you would like a business assessment to help kick off your business transformation, contact me at info@thinkingbusinessblog.com or at 587-227-5179.

Be sure to sign up at www.thinkingbusinessblog.com for weekly blog updates delivered to your inbox.

 

 

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

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2 thoughts on “How to Focus Your Business and Make More Money

  1. I am also struggling in the focus area. As you said I have missed many deadlines which were connected to my short-term goals. The reason for that is I become the person who gives excuses. I realize that this is not going to work for long-term planning. So decided to work on the things that matter the most now and started avoiding the unwanted things. Its a complete revamp of my day to day structure.

    I am very bad handling the other part of my life like family, friends, and health. I need to work on that part as well.

    Thank for great sharing. I will take a look at the book that you suggested.

    Thank you