What’s most important?

Forcing yourself to focus on the most important things for your business

Hi all —

In startups, founders can waste time in a ton of creative ways.

There’s really only 1-2 most important things to focus on at any one time. Usually related to finding product-market fit, proving out your core business logic.

But I’ve seen plenty of founders avoid focusing on the most important things for their businesses. For example:

• They don’t build the habit of focusing on the 1-2 most important things in their businesses

• They assume that these most important things will handle themselves, someway, somehow

• They think they can outsource solving their 1-2 most important problems instead of leaning into them headfirst

• They lie to themselves to avoid doing difficult and uncomfortable things

• They assume that, because they’re following the latest “best management practice / process” (E.g., OKRs) that they are focusing on the most important things

• They get caught up in the day-to-day, letting other people determine their priorities

You can probably think of 10 other reasons founders lose focus…

I have found the habit of asking myself weekly, “What are the 1-3 most important things I can focus on next week?” is a forcing function that gets me to think clearly about priorities for the business.

And, at the same time, I keep myself accountable by reflecting on whether I focused on the 1-3 most important things for my business this past week.

It’s a simple habit - I recommend giving it a try!