Distracted by Things You Think Are Urgent? Decide To Focus On What's Important Instead - Andy Bailey

Andy Bailey has been an entrepreneur for over 18 years and in that time he’s had the lesson of focus beaten into him. In his Paper Napkin Wisdom, Andy explains how the Rockefeller Habits changed his entrepreneurial life and shares with us his no-nonsense approach to achieving your goals. There’s a big difference between what’s Important and what’s Urgent, says Andy. Learning the difference between important and urgent, and placing our focus deliberately and intentionally on what’s Important is key to growing a sustainable business.

Where is the focus? The first half of Andy’s napkin asks us: “WTF? Where’s the focus?” Focus is something difficult to get these days when we’re so bombarded with distractions, but as entrepreneurs and business owners it’s is something we need to find. If we find ways to set priorities long term and break them down into short term tasks, we make ourselves capable of measuring our success. Too many businesses either don’t have a focus or set too many goals. Narrowing our focus down to a small number of goals is vital, but if we want to be really effective we need to see to it that our goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound. If you create attainable, specific goals with a set time limit and measure your progress, success is far more likely.

"We need to see to it that our goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound." Focused goals are one half of the process that leads us to success, but equally important is the equation Andy shares on the second half of his napkin: (P+C) X CE= Done! Or, to expand on that: People plus a strong culture, multiplied by consistent execution, equals getting things done. We’ve talked before on Paper Napkin Wisdom about the importance of having a business filled with remarkable people and a strong culture. When you add focused goals to those essential elements, you set yourself up for a success that builds upon itself.

Beat the drum As leaders it is up to us to build and maintain a heartbeat in our company, we have to beat the drum. As Andy describes, what it comes down to is this: “If you can design a thing out into the future, it’s much easier to see. We get what we can see but we can’t see it until we design it. Design it, look at it, and go get it.” Think about what you want to accomplish, make it a SMART goal. If you’ve got a team of remarkable people and a strong culture, you’ve got what you need to get it done. Listen to the conversation with Andy here: