Ambition is great. Having it can help people set lofty goals which they might not otherwise achieve. As NASA winds down the space shuttle program the world loses the urgency of Kennedy’s commitment to exploration and seemingly insurmountable goals. That such a journey succeeded is not so much a testament to the audacious goal as it is to the single-minded focus of its attainment.
Do we have the focus required to achieve our business goals? Can the people in our organizations depend on us to execute on a sharp vision of future, or, like Dug in Disney’s “Up” are we easily distracted? Are we tempted to try to do everything at once? Organizational ADD benefits no one; not customers, not employees, and not shareholders.
- Employees suffer because each day brings a confusing array of new #1 priorities. Without a clear and common objective we lose their engagement, loyalty and dedication.
- Customers suffer because they lose faith in our ability to do what we say. We lose their trust.
- Shareholders suffer because our customers seek more dependable vendors/suppliers. We lose their investment as we lose market capitalization.
What to do?
Chose a few good ideas and commit to doing them (the secret to accomplishing more). Commit equally to not be pulled astray by flavor-of-the-month ideas. The pivot point is that focus is the partner of ambition while squirrels are the enemy.
