Presentation Zen: Steve Jobs & the art of focus

Simplicity, among other things, is a conscious choice between inclusion and exclusion. Often the magic is in what you leave out. But this means that you need to be comfortable with saying no, to yourself and to others. This is not easy to do. In the two video clips below from 1997, Steve Jobs shares his ideas on simplicity and focus while speaking to the issue of killing OpenDoc (a software framework standard), a decision that was not popular for many people at the time. Jobs's explanations about his decision sheds more light on his thinking process and how his quest for absolute focus was paramount for creating a vision and strategy which were clear. The lessons contained in these clips are generalizable to business, management, and leadership

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Growth Through Focus - Less is More: A Blueprint for Driving Profitable Expansion: s+b

This strategy+business article is well research and offers a comparative view on the advantages of thinking about growth as focus rather than growth as more. Faced with economic headwinds, many global corporations are struggling to grow their businesses profitably. In the consumer packaged goods business, for example, the worldwide recession has hurt premium brands as consumers have traded down to cheaper brands, private labels, or generics. In the retailing business, same-store sales are flat or declining for numerous companies. Meanwhile, many business leaders continue to seek growth by extending their existing product lines and brands, as well as by entering new geographic regions. After all, growth is supposed to be about “more” — more products on the shelf, more categories, more brands, and more markets. However, this approach is exactly the opposite of what business leaders should do to drive increased revenues and profits. A typical “growth through more” strategy

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How We Think as We Work and How We Find Our Muses - Harvard Busines Review

I'm in Word. I write a sentence. I revise the second half. I delete it all. I try to recall the original. I think I've got it. I stare at the phrase "brought home to me." It starts to look funny. I google it. Minutes, sometimes hours, pass in this state of indecision. It's not how I'd like to work, but too often it is how I work. My only saving grace is that eventually my train of thought does find its focus, usually with nary a moment to spare. If I must make a 5:00 pm deadline, clarity shows up promptly at 4:47. It seems that as much as deadlines push me to action, the mounting pressure to make them sparks creativity. In a talk given for TEDIndia

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Eleven Tips for Boosting Your Sense of Quiet Focus | Psychology Today

We all know the feeling of being overwhelmed, of being beset by distractions. The problem is – too many things are clamoring for your attention. People are trying to reach you, by phone, email, text, Twitter, IM, or old-fashioned yelling up the stairs. There are the interesting subjects you want to learn more about, on the TV or the internet or the newspaper. Noises in the background occasionally catch your ear, from the TV or radio. Your kids all talk at the same time. Colleagues interrupt. You need to update, check in, post, or ping. Ads jump at you from the most unlikely places. Devices buzz, ring, chirp, and vibrate. It’s enough to drive you crazy. You lose your train of thought, you forget what you’re doing, you have trouble re-engaging in a task, you feel besieged.

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Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Chip Heath and Dan Heath have introduced a new "sticky guide" on making your ideas stick, and eliminating the ones that ought to die. How do you make your ideas stick or prevail (without being a dictator)? Just today, I was trying to make my thirteen year old son do some backyard work (cleaning the table, chair, moving the garbage bins, and picking up our dog's poop). As a dad, I asked him twice to do this chore (and forgot that this was a weekend when he wanted to relax a bit). He told me he already did the work (he had only partially done the work). Finally, I had to raise my voice and even yell at him to get up and go out, and finish the work. Which he did, albeit grudgingly.

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