“Starve your distractions, feed your focus.” – Unknown
It was July 9th 1997.
Steve Jobs was leaving his “personal wilderness”.
This was the day Jobs returned to the company that fired him.
Jobs retook the role of Apple’s CEO.
It was a dark time for Apple.
The company was almost bankrupt.
Apple’s customer base (and Wall Street) were jumping ship.
Apple had lost its way.
The pressure was on Jobs to deliver.
What was Jobs’ FIRST MOVE as CEO?
Did he lay off 30% of Apple’s workforce?
Did he travel the country making promises to analysts?
Did Jobs try to sell the company?
None of the above.
Jobs first move was so SIMPLE that it shocked many inside and outside of Apple.
Jobs dropped the “F Bomb”.
He FOCUSED Apple.
Jobs stripped Apple down to only four core products.
Apple would discontinue everything else.
All of Apple’s resources would be FOCUSED on its best products.
Job’s said in an interview, “It means saying ‘No’ to the hundred other good ideas. You have to pick carefully…Innovation is saying ‘No’ to 1,000 things.”
Jobs gives us a powerful one-word SUCCESS STRATEGY:
FOCUS.
He shows us a killer TACTIC to execute this strategy:
SAYING “NO”.
It means saying “No” to:
- Low value meetings and conference calls.
- Invitations to events with marginal friends that gobble up your time and money.
- Being constantly distracted by social media.
Where there is no FOCUS, distraction reigns.
DISTRACTION has killed more careers than any recession ever could.
The irony is not lost that one of the universe denting products Job’s FOCUS strategy helped Apple create was the iPhone.
Which may be the greatest distraction device in human history.
But that’s a subject for another day.
Seth Godin wrote, “If it’s going to distract you from the work that truly matters, pass.”
Take pass on what’s no longer relevant.
Lean in to what really matters.
BLOW UP your distractions.
Dent your universe.
#DropTheFbomb
-Joe Ciccarone
The Vibe 