FOCUS: THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Hard work is a key to success. However, winning is more than just working hard. It’s working smart. It’s having a direction and focus. It’s having a plan and working the plan. A plan involves defining what has to be done, how to go about doing it, who will do it, and setting time lines. With winning teams it’s very much about everyone working the plan together. Working the plan is an expression of organization, direction, and cooperation. It involves a coordinated effort by a group of people directing their energy efficiently and effectively.

When Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach, was asked by a prominent industrialist, “What makes a winning team?” Lombardi said, “The players have to know their jobs.” First you need to tell people exactly what is expected of them. “Once you know specifically what you want your team to be doing in the future, then you need to measure it.

Focus is a key to success. Winning teams share a winning focus. There’s an awareness of where they’re going, what has to be done, and a belief in their capability as a group to execute the plan. Focusing on what the competition is doing can be limiting. Instead, focus primarily on what you are working to create, and how you are trying to improve relative to an absolute standard of excellence.

The pattern of defining what has to be done, communicating it to team members, rehearsing, executing the plan, and then assessing and adjusting is key to success in most endeavors. As the coach said, “The players have to know their jobs.”

Focus is key to superior performance, and the plan is a blueprint for focus.