One Thing for the New Year
Over the past year, I’ve put a great deal of thought into success. Who achieves it? Why does one win over the next? How is it that so many seemingly talented people never “make it,” while others (often with less impressive means) find a way to?
Following this train of thought wasn’t deliberate. Perhaps it became more central as it arose in a number of books I read over the past year. From Felix Dennis’ “How To Get Rich” (don’t let the title lead you astray—it’s a terrific read), to Jim Collins’ “Good to Great,” to Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers,” the same topic came up repeatedly. Late this year, I wrote a book called “Speak Human.” In it, I touched upon the same topic—although perhaps not quite as directly.
If I have to pin down the single most important lesson I’ve learned in these readings—and through my own research—it’s that of maintaining rigorous focus. To most, this may seem overly simplistic, or perhaps a clichéd sentiment. My belief, however, is that it’s critically important and largely misunderstood.
We all want to do more, achieve more, add more features, and offer “one more thing”... but what would happen if you didn’t?
The band AC/DC writes the same song time and again—and does quite well. Twitter has very few features… but grows at a rate most would have never have expected. Robeez makes only toddlers’ shoes. (They sell lots and lots of shoes.)
It’s a new year, and people are making all kinds of resolutions. What if yours was to concentrate on just one thing?
—Eric Karjaluoto, partner at smashLAB and author of “Speak Human.”