One Focus Question
“Will it make the boat go faster?”
That’s the question the British Olympic rowing team asked themselves as they prepared for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. For the years of preparation for this in many cases once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they had a single focus. Will it make the boat go faster?
If we do 70 minutes of training on the rowing machine today? Probably, yes, so let’s get on with it.
If we go to the pub at the end of the session? No, so let’s not.
They used this clear, simple, single focus to achieve their goal. And it paid off - they defied expectations and their history of results to take home the ultimate reward, the gold medal.
How does this apply to you? I don’t think any of my readers are potential Olympic rowers (although if you are, you know your focus question already - and good luck!) but this can be applied to your individual or personal goals, to team goals, or even to divisions or whole businesses.
My favourite generic version of this question is:
“Will it get me closer to my goal?”
What would be a good focus question for your context? Well that is of course up to you and your needs. Here’s a few examples:
“Will it get us to product-market fit faster?”
“Will it make our revenue grow faster?”
“Will it make our infrastructure more robust?”
“Will it make our team morale better?”
“Will it make us the #1 player?”
This isn’t the magic answer to all your needs, but having a single question in mind might help you make better decisions for your project or department.
A fully loaded boat
Beyond the Focus Question
The main advantage of this approach is that it’s simple and easy for people to hold in their heads when making a decision.
However it’s natural to want to extend it a little bit, to include metrics or KPIs. The follow up questions, “By how much?” and “Is it worth it?” allow you to quantify the improvement and look at return on investment.
These additional considerations should be looked into - if your potential improvement is disproportionately expensive then it might not be worth doing. Alternatively if the difference is going to be minor then perhaps examine some other options that could be more impactful.
Remember though, lots of little improvements often add up to big difference.
What would be a good focus question for you? How might you make your boat go faster?
When you're ready, I offer 1:1 coaching for leaders who are looking to take their life and career to the next level. Send me an email and we'll set up a time to have a chat.
If you found this useful, please consider subscribing to my newsletter here. You’ll receive articles like this in your inbox every couple of weeks. Thank you!