The risks of being too focused

You don’t want to miss the forest for the trees

We all know that focus is critical. That is, unless it carries you to the point where your commitment to keeping your head down and your nose to the grindstone so narrows your vision and openness to new paths and opportunities that you run the risk of missing the forest for the trees.

The iterative process — constant, incremental improvement — is a very powerful discipline. But it’s also likely to lead you to believe that you’re approaching a final destination, when, in fact, there are significant additional developments and far greater rewards if you think outside the box and look occasionally for quantum leaps rather than small, safe steps forward. Some opportunities arrive in their own mysterious time, on their own terms and not yours, to be seized or lost forever.

You never know who’s going to bring you your future or where and when it may arrive. But if you aren’t open to the prospect, you’re going to miss some easy wins and low-hanging fruit.

The best opportunities aren’t obvious or offered, they’re seized. Not all of the smartest people in the world work for you and — as often as not — it’s not raw smarts that make for important differences and critical enhancements and improvements. It’s a combination of synergy and serendipity.

Folks from other businesses and backgrounds without the depth of industry-specific experience that your team possesses can still have ideas and approaches that make sense for you to investigate. That is, unless you’re planning on doing things the same old way you always have from here on out.

I see too many instances of smart operators who are single-mindedly building their businesses and rushing full speed ahead without taking the time — from time to time — to catch their breath, take a long look ahead and make sure that what appears to be the horizon isn’t just the edge of a rut they’re in.

And, most importantly, to look around and see what’s out there in the whole wide world that might help them move their businesses ahead more quickly, easily and inexpensively.

There’s a reason that Tesla spends more on research and development than GM, Ford and Chrysler combined, and the results to date speak for themselves. In the early 20th century, a fellow named Henry Ford did the same thing, much to the dismay of his investors.

The power law of venture capital (lots of losers and a few home runs, which pay for the portfolio) also applies to the world of new ideas and research — doesn’t matter how many frogs you have to kiss, as long as there’s a prince or two in the bunch.

Carve out time to see whether there are add-ons, fold-ins, new technologies, extensions or other approaches that can save you time and money; tools or prebuilt modules that can increase your productivity, customer connection and engagement; and existing products and services that can save you from spending a boatload of bucks reinventing the wheel or creating a so-what solution to a problem that someone else has already solved with a solution they’re willing — for their own purposes — to share or sell to you.

What matters most is the highest and best use of your time and resources.

Think of these as win-win situations and time savers rather than concessions or compromises.

An example might be incorporating a version of a puzzle game that you’ve developed into someone else’s travel site, and having them develop clues and answers that all relate to geography and vacation spots. The increased engagement and connection time might generate additional ad or other revenues which you could both share.

The things you buy, borrow, lease or steal don’t have to be perfect fits. They don’t have to be the best code out there. They don’t even have to be as good as the code, product or service that you could write and build yourself if you had the time.

This isn’t like blowing your nose, where, even if you don’t do it well, you should do it yourself. Take the hint — you don’t have the time to do everything and even if you did, you have better and more productive and profitable ways to spend it.

The search process just needs to show you some ideas and other ways to get the job done. Think of it as inexpensive R & D, and you’ll start to understand that this approach can turn out to be the smartest and cheapest education you’ll ever get. Education in these cases isn’t so much about the transfer and acquisition of specific information as it is about opening your mind to new options, methods and categories that may make a great deal of sense for you and your business.

But if you aren’t looking, you’ll miss the whole show.

TANAWAT PONTCHOUR/DREAMSTIME