Focus is one of the essential strategies that is lacking in startups (and businesses) today. Grabbing every opportunity that comes along your way might lead to short-term gains, but it will eventually become your downfall.
Your business has a purpose. It stands for something. It has a vision. Written or not, regardless where that came from – your personal ambition that you turned into reality or it was handed down to you by your boss or the company you are working in right now – there is that objective the company wants to achieve.
(Look, if you do not know what it is, find out about it. If there really isn’t one, make one. If you do not care, sorry, you are not fit to be in that role right now if you do not see the value of having a vision.)
Focus separates the successful companies from those who are not. Companies that have a clear vision of where they are going, even if they do not know how, are on the right track.
The main idea behind the strategy of focus is the constraint on resources. Whether that is in the form of cash or capital, time, manpower or skills, you have limited resources. Without focus, you will grab every opportunity that presents itself. As mentioned above, that might lead to short-term gain because of its newness. That will eventually bring you down because you are confusing your customers and noncustomers. You are confusing your own team as to which direction you are heading.
Yes, there is such a thing as a pivot, but that is a major overhaul of the company’s strategies and operations, not simply trying out something because there is an opportunity to earn money from it.
So stop what you are doing right now and find out your purpose. Focus on opportunities and activities that contribute to that goal, and kill all other ideas that detract from it — no matter how shiny it is.
