The Perils of Distraction
photo credit: Elsie esq.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that posts on this blog have been more sparse this week than in previous weeks. It’s because I’m still doing most of the blogging myself, and I have a lot of irons in the fire.
I’m mentioning this for two reasons:
- I’m still seeking contributors. If you or someone you know writes regularly, is passionate about meaningful work, and would be interested in writing for this blog, check out the contributor guidelines.
- My struggles this week are relevant to business overall, because getting distracted is about as common as coffee in most businesses.
One of the first lessons in branding is to focus. Know your positioning, know your differentiaton, and shun that which does not fit. It works for branding, but it also works for product development, and service delivery, and just about any aspect of business.
It’s important to focus. And what’s necessary to staying focused is the ability to say no.
I’m clearly not saying no to enough possibilities in my personal and professional life right now, and it’s partly because the state of the economy and friends losing jobs (another of my friends lost his job just today, for example) leads to a feeling that we can’t afford to turn anything away.
But it isn’t until we start saying no to what doesn’t truly fit that we can become better at what does. It’s true for people, and it’s true for businesses.
What can you say “no” to today that will free you up to be better at what you do?
