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Key Takeaways Founders are known for working overly long hours, juggling virtually limitless tasks and wanting to have their finger in every pie of the business.
But when a leader can’t say no to every prospect that feels like a real opportunity, they start investing their personal resources too widely to have a real impact.
Going deeper on a few key goals instead of extending your reach farther could be the answer to increased productivity and more functional teams.
Your calendar looks like a crime scene. Back-to-back meetings, endless notifications, dozens of open tabs and every opportunity feeling too important to ignore. You have four projects half finished, an investor update due, a team member waiting for direction and somehow you’re supposed to find time to think strategically and take care of yourself. Sound familiar?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ve learned: Most entrepreneurs don’t have a focus problem. They have a saying-no problem. And it’s quietly costing them growth.
The “shiny object tax”
A founder I coached was leading an ed-tech company that looked successful from the outside. She had turned the business around and built three consecutive years of profitability. But behind the scenes, she was exhausted. She was working 70-hour weeks, sleeping five hours a night and constantly feeling like she was falling behind. Her team was frustrated because priorities kept shifting, her board questioned the company’s strategic direction and the business had stopped growing.
When I asked what was consuming her time, she opened her phone and scrolled through her task list. Thirty-seven items. How many of those were actually moving the company forward? After a pause, she answered: “Maybe five.”
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