The Modern Manager 226: Focus on the Big Things with Erik Qualman
Focus: It’s an important skill for the success of any organization or individual. While it's natural for anyone to get distracted by new ideas, potential projects, overwhelming to-do lists, and ongoing problems, learning how to focus can save us time and energy in the long-run.
Today’s guest is Erik Qualman. Erik is five-time #1 Bestselling Author and Keynote Speaker who has performed in over 55 countries and reached over 50 million people. He was voted the 2nd Most Likeable Author in the World behind Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling. He is the host of the popular Super U Podcast and his work has been used by the National Guard to NBC Universal to NASA.
Erik and I talk about what it means to really be focused. He shares his lessons learned and best tips and tricks for how you and your team can accomplish great things simply by staying focused.
Members of the Modern Manager community get a Buy One Get One Free deal on two of his products. The first is his Kittycorn card game, designed for any group to learn easily and have a great time. The second is his book, The Focus Project, designed to provide solutions to the challenge of focusing in an unfocused world. Get them both when you join the Modern Manager community.
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Read the related blog article: How To Focus So The Big Things Get Done
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Super U Podcast contact: eq@equalman.com
Key Takeaways:
- Fear of failure disrupts focus. Remember that evaluated failure makes us better. Learn from mistakes.
- When you fix clients’ problems, they are 3 times more likely to be repeat customers.
- People don’t love us because we’re perfect, but because we’re perfectly flawed. Aim to be “flawsome.”
- Trying to do too many things is almost always the wrong approach. Focus on crushing one thing, even if it requires you to cannibalize your own product line.
- When you add more tasks, subtract others so that you don’t overstuff your To Do list.
- The Army Ant tries to do too much at once. Put one project on hold or label one “major” and focus on it first.
- The Squirrel loves shiny objects and has trouble completing tasks. Make a commitment not to move on to other work until you’ve completed your priority at hand.
- The Chameleon is a people pleaser who has difficulty saying no. Find little wins for saying no, ask yourself if this is what you want to be doing, and don’t guess what others want.
- The Hedgehog is cautious about taking risks. Let go of perfectionism before moving forward. Do the Superhero pose to reduce cortisol and empower yourself.
- Be firm in your destination but flexible in your path. Let go of sunken costs, even if it’s hard to move on. Ask why you do things a certain way and if you can change. Go where the market and future opportunities are.