• by Chad Little , June 2, 2009

There is a book I read a few years back titled "Focus -- The Future Of Your Company Depends On It." It's an oldie but a goodie. The author argues that the battle for consumers' attention is more intense than ever before. Companies that have cluttered messaging and overcomplicated positioning make it difficult for customers to know who they are and what they do. Creating and using simple, focused message sounds simple enough on paper, but is challenging to implement.

There are countless examples of companies that make their message and product offering so convoluted that it affects their success. You could argue focus (the lack of) is why Yahoo is in its current predicament. Yahoo was the leader in search. Google arrived and focused on search while Yahoo added more and more 'focuses' along the way. Google eventually passed Yahoo in size and never looked back. Focus is one of the most important business activities that most companies never practice. Here are some questions to ask yourself to make sure you are staying focused:

What is the primary benefit you provide your clients?
>>What is it that key value that you bring to the table, and how does that benefit your clients? Are there multiple? Insider tip: Your clients don't care about features - they want to know the benefits they'll receive. Are you selling drill bits or are you selling the hole?

If you could own a word, what would it be?
>>Google owns 'search', Volvo owns 'safety', Toyota owns 'quality'. These brands worked tirelessly for years to own them by reinforcing them in advertising and focusing on them when creating new products. What industry specific term can you own? Identify it, focus on it and communicate it.

Does your mission statement provide you daily guidance on what you shouldn't do?
>>Do you have a mission statement? If so, what is it? Most likely it was created years ago and reads something like: "We'll be the leading, quality, superior, blablablab." Your mission statement should provide daily guidance and help make critical decisions about what you SHOULDN'T do. If a product or focus doesn't reinforce your mission statement -- say no. When you say no to projects or products that don't fit your mission, you aren't giving up anything; you're actually showing who you are. Oftentimes a good way to define yourself is by defining who you are not.

Zappos recently started offering products beyond shoes. Could this be example of a company that is losing focus? I would argue not. Their vision/mission statement is "Provide legendary customer service". Given that, it really doesn't matter what they're selling. As long as they keep the culture and never lose sight of their core, it's not about the shoes. It never has been!

I leave you with a great scene from the movie City Slickers that pretty much sums it all up:

"Do you know what the secret to life is?" asks Jack Palance "No, what?" says Billy Crystal

"One thing, just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don't mean shit."

"That's great, but what's the one thing?"

"That's what you've got to figure out."