The chaos around us

The tricky thing about distractions is that they don’t always present themselves as such. In many cases, they come disguised as opportunities. A new job offer, a side project, or a shiny new tool can all seem like positive turns to take. Yet, when looked at from the perspective of our core objectives and values, it often becomes evident that these are divergences rather than enhancements.

Add to that the constant ping of social media notifications, the allure of new ideas, or the changing tides of opportunity and responsibility, and it almost feels like the Universe is conspiring to destroy clarity as soon as we arrive at it. A merciless endeavor on the Universe’s part that requires an equally merciless endeavor on our part to maintain focus and alignment with our goals.

Being able to clearly articulate the goals – and ideally, being able to explain them to others – can be an important step in refusing to allow the Universe to divert us from our path.

While we can’t control all that happens around us, we can control our reaction to it. We can decide to say “no” to opportunities when they are not aligned with our objectives or values. And we can strive to stay in control irrespective of the chaos around us.

Prioritizing is a pain.

But only when it’s about you.

In fact, it’s often super easy to do for others. When we listen to someone explain their struggles, we tend to know quickly what they should focus on.

But for ourselves? That’s super hard. It means letting go of opportunities and it invites failure: What if it’s the wrong priority? What about the external driving forces? There are bills to pay. Customers to satisfy. Employees to care for. Also, there’s this new trend that would open up great new opportunities and potentially skyrocket parts of our business.

But the bitter truth is this: If we don’t prioritize then someone else will do it for us. And if it’s not someone, it’s time. The one thing we can be certain of is that there are always going to be more things to do than we’ve got time to do them.

Basically, if we don’t prioritize we’re delegating the decision. If that’s not what you want, then you’ll have to make the decision yourself.

What makes it harder than it should be is when we think that our decision would be final. That it would need to be the right decision.
It doesn’t.

There’s always the possibility to change course. Revise our decision. Use new data to make a new decision.

Here are 10 thoughts that might help you with finding your focus for now: https://michaelgerharz.com/focus.

Addressing objections

A great way to improve your communication is to listen to your customer-facing teams, such as sales, tech support, or social media managers. If you have a system in place to collect all the objections that customers tell your teams, you can address each of them in your communication.

The obvious way to do this is to find (or come up with) ways to convince your audience that these objections are kind of untrue or don’t matter that much (or that it wasn’t your fault).

A much more unusual way is to use the collection of objections as a filter and embrace some of the objections to separate who your service is for and who it’s not for.

That way you can strengthen your communication for those who it is for.

In a way, rather than arguing why your are right and those who complain are wrong you acknowledge that both might be right and then you use it to reinforce the message for those who agree with you.

Subtract and amplify

When a story doesn’t work, the default approach is to add more information. Explain it in greater detail. Come up with more reasons for why the approach you’re promoting is so obviously the right thing to do.

While lack of information was actually never the problem.

Quite the opposite: Your audience felt already overwhelmed or confused (and maybe both). It already was too much information so that they couldn’t figure out what’s the point, really.

Instead of adding to the confusion, great communicators ask: What’s the essence of the story? And how can I amplify that?

Subtracting the non-essential and amplifying the essential is how leaders light the path.

Are you willing to compromise?

A word of caution: You’re never going to find focus if you’re not willing to compromise.

Focusing means making decisions and dismissing many paths in order to get farther on the one path.

Leaders who master focus understand that by sticking to their focus they won’t always make the perfect decision. Instead they bet on things to be better overall and in the long run.

By not having to make this decision at each single crossing they can confidently walk their path, knowing that they’ll miss out on some beautiful landscapes but being certain that they’ll be rewarded with a breathtaking view that not many have enjoyed before.

10 thoughts on focus

The best communicators find the courage to cut to the core, separate the signal from the noise and direct everyone’s energy on what matters most.

Where others are overwhelmed with choice, leaders who master focus point us in the right direction. Where others are torn between alternatives, they make us see how to make that choice.

I’ve written down 10 thoughts on what they do differently and I’ve assembled a free workbook to help you apply these thoughts to your own communication.

Check it out at https://michaelgerharz.com/focus.

PS: If you find it useful, please share it with a friend!

Super focused communication

“So, what was the talk about?”
The best communicators don’t leave this to chance. They carefully focus their story to deliver a lasting impact.

The default mode to communication is very different. It goes something like this: I’m just going to tell you everything and you’re going to be convinced. But we all know how that usually turns out.

Let’s change this. I’m hosting a live event on April, 25th to help you become a super-focused communicator. Based on my work with leaders across the globe, you’ll learn how to:
💪 find the courage to truly cut to the core,
💡 separate the signal from the noise and
🙌 direct everyone’s energy on what matters most, no matter how complex the task at hand is.

Where others are overwhelmed with choice, leaders who master focus point us in the right direction. Where others are torn between alternatives, they make us see how to make that choice.

Remember: If you don’t decide on what matters most, your audience is going to decide for you. And you might not like their choice. It’s always better to find that courage yourself.

Join me on April, 25th … it’s free: https://michaelgerharz.com/live.

Focus: excellent

Now Taylor knows. And can act accordingly. She took my self-assessment and uncovered her core strength: focus, being able to cut to the core.

She can build on that to work on other aspects of her communication, such as adjusting the angle of her communication to more accurately reflect what her customers need.

I’ve designed the self-assessment as a thorough process. It forces you to dig deeper. Sure, you can just click through and that’ll cost you roughly a minute. But if you take it seriously, you’ll get a pretty accurate assessment of where you stand so that you can amplify what works and improve where there’s a potential for growth.

The best part: The results are presented right away, no email required. You’ll also get immediate tips to collect some quick wins.

What’s working well in your communication? Find out here.

What matters most?

Short reminder: If you don’t decide on what matters most, you’re effectively delegating that decision to your audience.

What’s your focus for today?

It’s always now!

The more busy we get, the more likely we are to miss the present moment.

And yet, it’s always now.

What a beautiful idea to remind us of that simple truth the now clock is.

PS: And it might make for a great X-mas present for someone who needs to be reminded of that (no affiliation).

Spread the Word

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Dr. Michael Gerharz