Focus Is Essential. But Changing Focus Is More Important

Concentration matters, but we need to switch our attention from time to time.

Have you ever noticed that a stranger can offer a better idea than an experienced professional? Or have you ever faced a situation when an outsider saw the opportunities that you overlooked? Focusing on a task or problem helps us concentrate. But concentrating on one point means other points drop out of sight. So, one needs to change their perspective from time to time.

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

A newspaper's story

Once a new young employee joined a newspaper's team. It was a respectful media with a long history and traditions. 

A couple of weeks later, he was invited to a meeting. And there he dared to ask: "Why are our pages so large? It is so uncomfortable to read!" Other meeting participants were furious. They told him the broadsheet tradition is very old, which differentiates serious media from frivolous tabloids. 

He decided not to argue but started digging deeper. And he found out that this tradition came from a tax imposed in 1712 on the number of pages in a newspaper. So publishers increased the surface of the pages almost 300 years ago to pay less tax. 

300 or 200 years ago, only few people read newspapers. And mostly, they did it at the table, at breakfast. Broadsheet pages were comfortable to read. But in the XXth century, people began to read news on public transportation. Try to open an almost one-meter-wide newspaper in the morning subway, and you'll see what they felt. 

At that time, many tabloids appeared and flourished. They were easy to read, and not only because of the content. Their pages were smaller. And gradually, "serious" papers came round to tabloid size. The Daily Mail changed shape in 1971, and the Daily Express followed suit in 1977.

A board of director's story

I have been on boards since 2012. Board members attend meetings several times per year. But oftentimes, I noticed that they could offer more exciting ideas than a CEO who was deeply involved in the business. Looking back to my own years as a CEO, I recall that my advisors could direct my attention to the major issues I somehow overlooked. 

My advisors were not smarter than me. But they had to change their focus from time to time. 

Change your focus

Sometimes it is essential to change our perspective to see things differently. Of course, reading books or learning something new help much. But it can broaden your horizons, not look at your tasks from another angle.

From my experience, the best way to see your business with fresh eyes is to help others solve the same problems. 

You can become:

• A board member

• An advisor

• A mentor

Looking at the same difficulties from the outside can switch your mind to another mode. And it works. 

I became a better CEO when I began to work as a board member for another company. 

So, change the perspective.

Strategy - map it out yourself.