No-vember — Addition by Subtraction (2 Min Read)

November 29, 2024

“People think focusing is about saying ‘yes’ to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” — Steve Jobs

No-vember — Addition by Subtraction

After Steve Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985, the company branched out in all directions. They made printers, a Pippin game console, a TV, a QuickTake digital camera in partnership with Kodak, and lots of variations of their personal and professional computers. They almost went bankrupt. Apple stock sold for just ten cents and the company’s market capitalization was just $2.3 billion. When Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997, job number one was to start saying “No.” 

In an early meeting, he drew a two-by-two grid on a whiteboard. Going forward they would focus on four products: consumer portable and desktop computers and professional portables and desktops. The company’s product launches became legend. Macintoshes led to iTunes. iTunes led to iPods. And iPods paved the way for iPhones and the App Store. Under Jobs’s leadership, Apple went on an astounding 14-year run of success. By the time he died in 2011, the stock was worth $15 a share and the market cap topped $300 billion. 

Focus matters. Yet most misunderstand how it works on a fundamental level. When you focus on something, your brain isn’t spotlighting it. It’s just the opposite. Your brain methodically blots out everything but the object of your focus. The more cluttered your work and life, the harder it is to focus. 

It’s time to go full Marie Kondo on your To-Do list. Instead of fighting to find time and resources for the things that matter, eliminate all the junk that doesn’t. You can’t do everything. You can’t please everyone. But you can do something extraordinary if you give it your full and sustained attention. 

One question to ponder in your thinking time: What can I delete from my To-Do list?

Make an Impact!
Jay Papasan
Co-author of The ONE Thing & The Millionaire Real Estate Agent