Focus on the Things That Matter Most

Many years ago, I was responsible for a factory in Asia while I lived in Connecticut. Month after month, the factory manager would call me with bad news... we missed another deadline... the latest shipment failed quality control... costs were 20% higher than he had promised.

My boss once asked me why I didn't appear more upset. "Why aren't you angrier? Are you the right guy to be leading this project?"

Anger, I explained, would only hurt me. Instead, it made more sense to focus on the things we could do differently. Over time, we did change those things and eventually the factory - which I helped create - grew to about 1,000 workers.

Anger didn't matter. Logic and persistence mattered.

A few years passed, and I wrote a book, now out of print, called Making It Personal. It was about personalization in a business context. In writing that work, I learned how different people are. What works for you won't necessarily work for me, and vice versa.

In business, this may be the most forgotten and under-appreciated truth:

People are very, very different... and it pays to cherish these differences, rather than ignore them.

So the second we start to talk about "focus on the things that matter most", you need to come up with your own list of what matters most to you.

It's tempting to simply use the list your boss gave you at your last performance review, but that would be foolish. That list represents what your boss and your employer need from you, not what matters most to you.

You might cater to the wishes of your family or significant other, who perhaps want you to "buckle down this year". They might be right. Or maybe not.

You need to decide.

Whatever you decide, you need a device to keep that list front of mind every single day.

My ex-wife came up with a brilliant way to focus on what matters most to her. She refined her list down to a few words, perhaps five or six. Then she took these words and created a password for her various devices. Ever since she has typed her list - what matters most to her - again and again each day.

By her description, these words quickly became more than mere words. They penetrated her consciousness. They became a mantra of sorts, a new belief system. The changes in her career have been profound.

When you focus on what you want, two things happen.

First, you better leverage your talents, strengths, and energy. You increase the scope of the difference you can make.

Second, you become better able to help others. This could include your company, customers, and peers... but also people in other parts of your life. This is because you are now being true to yourself, which takes a lot less energy than simply doing what matters most to others.