Last week we finalised the rebranding of my business and the launch of our new website, MinorCo. This marked the completion of a big project that’s been my main focus for the first half of this year.
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Almost immediately, I said to myself (and a few people on my team) that our new focus for the rest of the year would be on optimising our systems and processes to support revenue and client success. As I’ve recently got the team starting to do sales calls and we have the new brand up and running, I want to get everyone comfortable and performing well in their new roles.
It would have been easy to finish one project and then take the foot off the gas and start cruising; working IN the business, doing what needs to be done and no longer working ON the business.
I prefer to have a “focus” or a high-level sense of direction as a way of prioritising and guiding our decision-making. It also helps give me a sense of purpose and gives my day meaning.
A focus is more than a priority. Every day, we have high-priority tasks that we’re working on. A focus is bigger than that. It’s your north star. It’s more like your number one goal. But where you can have multiple goals, I only ever have one focus. Your focus is the main area you're putting time and energy into for the quarter or even the year. And when you have a focus and you’ve communicated this to your team, this helps you to manage your time more effectively.
Unlike a goal which is usually very specific, a focus can be a bit more general than that. As you can see with my new focus, it’s not easy to measure as there’s no KPI attached to it. It’s more like a theme. It’s our way of saying, this is the area we’re focussing our energy and attention from now on.
When new opportunities arise, I can evaluate them through the lens of our focus. If something doesn’t align with our focus, it probably doesn't deserve any time right now.
When planning projects or tasks for the team, I can make decisions and prioritise tasks depending on how they help us make progress towards our focus.
I borrowed this idea from Asana. A little while ago, Asana introduced a feature that allowed you to set your focus for the week. Again, your focus highlights the main thing you're trying to get done that your daily tasks should support. I’m not sure why but Asana decided to remove this feature which was a disappointment. Nonetheless, I decided to continue the practice as it’s a useful way of helping me to stay on track and prioritise my time.
So, what’s your focus? What’s the main area you’re putting time and energy into right now?
Questions, comments, feedback? Leave me a comment below!