We live in an age of constant distractions. People are paid to grab and keep your attention; they make money off selling your face-time to others. Whereas previously television, newspapers and magazines simply delivered an audience to advertisers on their terms, the levels of sophistication to engage and retain viewers have evolved exponentially. Smartphones feed the habits of instant gratification and impatience, and with the release of dopamine associated with social media interaction, create addictive tendencies that can be exploited.
A few years ago I participated in an advanced off-road riding academy at Jan du Toit’s Country Trax in Amersfoort. As I recall, the final challenge was the Mamba, a gruelling single track that takes one over a variety of obstacles and obstructions, through thick sand and water, strewn with rocks of all shapes and sizes along the way. The trick, Jan said, was to see the rock in the path, but not to keep your eye on that. Focus on the basics – stand up, look up, open up.
It is quite common to get drawn-in to doing certain tasks while putting off others, at home and at work. It is so easy to while away your time attending to emails or doing market research on the internet, waiting for that big deal to come walking in the door. Getting caught up in busyness instead of business.
In every organisation, certain jobs are more crucial than others, so determined by the specific business case. The key is to focus on those activities and not to get ambushed by the myriad of distractions along the way.
So say the bosses
Again, I’ll be leading with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. To build your vision, you need to put first things first. Here, Covey deals with knowing how to prioritize your time and tasks, and advocates using the Eisenhower matrix of important and urgent matters.
Daniel Goleman names focus the hidden driver of excellence. Directing attention towards the right place at the right time is a primal task of leadership; to sense trends, spot emerging realities and seize opportunities. Organisations may make flawed decisions and execute poorly due to an inability to focus on their core functions.
Marnus Broodryk advocates that you need to pursue your biggest opportunity relentlessly, understand that in business focus is everything and sometimes you should say: “NO!” His 90 Rules for Entrepreneurs is a local gem in my opinion.
The Sologix solution
In order to run your business more successfully, you need to know where to spend the better part of your energy, time and resources. The business model canvas helps us identify the key activities and resources required to deliver your value proposition effectively and efficiently to your target market. GrowthWheel provides us with tried and tested tools to make smarter decisions and take better actions in the focus areas targeted to improve.
We have incorporated this in our methodologies applied at Sologix. First, we establish your core business type, being product innovation, customer relationship or infrastructure management focused.
We delve into Porter’s Value Chain to identify the key activities applicable to your business and ensure that the processes are designed and executed to run smoothly. Many SME’s fail as a result of inadequate attention to sales and the management of cash. These are always regarded as key activities in our book, and as a matter of course we will evaluate your sales process and cash management regimes.
As a member of our Sologix community, you will be able to identify your key activities and be held accountable to focus on that through our blue ribbon, versatile and dependable resources. Join our Business 101 Basics online course by following this link or contact us for personal business coaching by us an email here.
