It's Not Rocket Science. Dave Anderson

for progress, speed for direction, and activity for accomplishment. As a result stress levels rise, workloads increase, and objectives are missed. To exacerbate the confusion, goal-setting gurus teach that you should set dozens of goals in all areas of your life simultaneously. Similarly, consultants advise you to focus harder on your wildly important goals, when in one's mind, most business or life goals are wildly important. Like the hungry dog who after chasing five rabbits at once ends up tired and unfulfilled, well-intentioned but unfocused people do the same – in many cases throughout their entire lifetime.

Focus Fanatically on The Ultimate Few

      In my master the art of execution (MAX) workshop, the first step of execution I teach in the MAX process is to focus fanatically on the ultimate few (TUF). When I speak of “getting TUF,” I am referring to focusing like a laser on the one, two, or three ultimate few goals maximum that will drive the rest of your organization to its highest potential. These are not necessarily the easiest, least costly, most fun, or most popular goals; they are those most important. From the 10 or 20 good or great “would be nice to accomplish” objectives, TUFs are the half a handful of best goals that matter most.

      We grasp this principle of focus in other areas of our life. We normally attempt to learn one foreign language, pursue one profession, or master one martial art at a time. In fact, if you are chasing five or 10 priorities, are they really priorities at all? Think about it. If everything is important, then nothing is really all that important. No doubt there is an immense amount one can achieve during a year, a decade, and especially over a lifetime; it is not achieved by chasing every good or great opportunity at once, though! In having excess priorities, little will be done with any degree of excellence, and even less will be followed through with consistently.

      Here are six thoughts to support the first MAX discipline of focusing fanatically on the ultimate few: Get TUF!