The art of focus is to say no more.
When you grow and become better, the opportunities we have grows. It’s impossible to do everything well, so it’s important to focus.
That means, as we get more successful, we need to say NO more. This is a continual process. As you do better and better, you need to say no more.
With the pareto principle, usually 80% of the revenue is from 20% of the activities. It’s usually a huge advantage to cut the 80% that produces 20% of the revenue, but 80% of the work. Raising your prices is one way of doing that. It seems scary, but in some way, that free time is an investment in future opportunities. It opens you up to be able to scale more.
It’s important to consider the strategic plan about which direction you want to go and then consciously do that. Don’t leave it up to society or the market to decide which direction you will go. If you do that, you are like a boat drifting in the ocean. You need a destination and you need to be clear on where you are header. The opportunities and the path will open up.
It’s important to understand what your advantages are compared to competition. You are usually not going to win by being a commodity product that is just the same as others. It’s important to be different, and being different in a market of commodities, even if the same quality, means that you will have a substantial advantage. You stand out more, and you have some people who will choose you, just out of preference, and you will be willing to charge more, just by being different. That’s why it’s important to be unique.
How do you say no? It doesn’t matter. Just be polite, and explain the reasons. If you say yes to everything, you are saying no to yourself, and you are also not doing your best, and what you are capable of. Ultimately, saying no, means that you are not able to say yes to the really important things that you care about in the long run.
