In 1997 Steve Jobs stood in front of Apple and said, “Focusing is about saying ‘no…We had to decide what made sense and what didn’t!”
I have to admit here I can be distracted by the shiny lure in the water, and I have valued friends and associates that remind me of two framed sayings I have in my office.
“Is that your best work” this one reminds me that if it’s not my best effort why did I waste the time, and possibly the clients’ money? I used to ask employees who came to me on the status of projects and I would ask, “Is this your best work? May I tell everybody else you’re proud of this and we can implement it?” (Yes, I had a manager once who asked me this frequently.)
“Give that monkey back.” This one relates to saying no. Sometimes you just need to say no and tell people to do their own work. Or, say “No this doesn’t fit in our model.” Frankly, I struggle with this one every day. There are just so many great ideas to consider.
I was discussing this with a mentor many years ago and he told me there is value in creating a quality list of people you refer to. This allows you to say no to things that do not fit your long-range plans and still provide your clients with best-in-class advice and counsel.
Another piece of wisdom I think applies here is “Without a goal you are just wandering around in traffic!”
A clear goal gives you a target and the target gives you the ability to say no and ignore all those things that do not lead to the goal.
Try it on small things first and work your way up to saying “No, that is not who we are and the money is not worth the misdirection.”