Fellow entrepreneurs and EOS Implementers, I need to tell you about a client conversation that should terrify every leader reading this.
Last week, I facilitated a quarterly session for a $12 million manufacturing company. During IDS, we spent 50% of our time solving issues that had nothing to do with their Core Focus of custom metal fabrication for the aerospace industry.
Fifty percent.
That’s half of their most valuable problem-solving time spent on shiny distractions: a potential retail partnership, employee parking issues, and whether they should start offering training seminars. None of it moved them closer to what they do better than anyone else.
After the meeting, I pulled the CEO aside. “Do you realize what just happened?” I asked. He looked confused. “You just stole from your own company.”
When you lose focus, you’re stealing from your company. Here’s why.
The Compound Interest You’re Missing
Jim Collins taught us that greatness comes from combining a spirit of entrepreneurialism with a culture of discipline. That discipline shows up in three ways: Disciplined People, Disciplined Thought, and Disciplined Action.
But most people miss that the real magic happens when that discipline is applied consistently over time. Quarter after quarter. Level 10 after Level 10. Rock after Rock.
It’s compound interest for your business.
Think about it. Every minute spent on something outside your Core Focus is a minute not spent getting better at what you do better than anyone else. Every quarterly session derailed by non-core issues is a quarter you don’t advance your competitive advantage. Every distraction steals momentum from your flywheel.
The math is unforgiving. If you spend 50% of your time off-focus like my client, you’re operating at half your potential. Not 90%, not 80%. Half. And that gap compounds over time, creating a chasm between where you are and where you could be.
The Core Focus Reality Check
Let me be crystal clear about what Core Focus means. It’s not your mission statement, what you think you should be doing, or what looks exciting or profitable this quarter.
Core Focus is what you do better than anyone else, and it’s the most profitable thing you do.
It lives at the intersection of two truths:
- Your Purpose/Cause/Passion: Why you exist, what gets you out of bed
- Your Niche: What you do better than anyone else
For my manufacturing client, that’s custom metal fabrication for aerospace. Not retail partnerships. Not training seminars. Not solving every operational hiccup that pops up. Custom metal fabrication for aerospace.
When leadership wastes half their IDS time on other stuff, they’re stealing from their ability to get better at that one thing. They’re robbing themselves of the compound interest that comes from relentless focus.
Related Reading: Leading in Uncertain Times
The Disciplined Path Forward
Here’s what Disciplined People, Disciplined Thought, and Disciplined Action look like when applied to Core Focus:
- Disciplined People means having leadership team members who understand your Core Focus and have the discipline to say no to everything else. People who won’t let you get distracted by good ideas that aren’t great for your Core Focus.
- Disciplined Thought means filtering every decision, opportunity, and initiative through the Core Focus filter: Does this make us better at what we do better than anyone else? If not, it’s a no.
- Disciplined Action means doing the hard work of staying focused. Saying no to the customer who wants something outside your niche. Declining the partnership that doesn’t support your Core Focus. Stopping the project that seemed like a good idea but doesn’t fit.
The Wake-Up Call
I’ve worked with this manufacturing client for three years. They’re good at what they do. Excellent, even. But they could be great if they stopped stealing from themselves.
Their aerospace customers rave about their precision and speed. Their reputation in that niche is solid. But instead of doubling down on that advantage, they get pulled into conversations about expanding into automotive, exploring e-commerce, or adding consulting services.
Meanwhile, their main competitor just landed two major aerospace contracts that should have been their own. While my client debated parking policies, a competitor was perfecting aerospace processes and deepening relationships in the industry.
The Compounding Effect of Pure Focus
Something powerful happens when you get this right. When you focus on your Core Focus quarter after quarter, you don’t just improve—you compound.
Your team becomes better at what you do than anyone else. Your processes sharpen. Your reputation strengthens. Your pricing power increases. Your competitive moat widens.
But only if you stay disciplined.
Related Reading: How to Get Out of the Weeds & Focus on What Matters
The Cost of Distraction
Every entrepreneur I know struggles with this. Opportunities are everywhere. Customers ask for things outside your wheelhouse. Competitors launch new services, and it tempts you to pivot.
But here’s what the best companies understand: the cost of saying yes to the wrong things is higher than the cost of saying no to good opportunities.
When you chase two rabbits, you catch neither. When you try to be everything to everyone, you become nothing special to anyone.
Your Core Focus Action Plan
If you’re running a company on EOS, here’s your homework:
- Audit your last quarterly session. How much time did you spend on issues outside your Core Focus? Be honest.
- Review your current Rocks. How many are directly advancing what you do better than anyone else? How many are distractions?
- Clean up your Issues List. Before IDS, challenge anything that doesn’t directly support your Core Focus.
- Have the hard conversation. What are you doing that you need to stop doing? What opportunities do you need to say no to?
If you’re an EOS Implementer, challenge your clients. When they bring non-core issues to IDS, ask the hard question: “Is solving this going to make you better at what you do better than anyone else in the world?”
Note: Sometimes you sell a product or service that takes time to unwind. Or external forces push you outside your focus. Be mindful of lost leaders or other justifications we use to step off track.
Choose Great Over Good
Focus isn’t a luxury. It’s the difference between building a great company and an average one, between a business that leads its industry and one that chases every shiny object.
When you lose focus, you don’t just miss opportunities; you steal from your company’s future. You rob yourself of the compound interest that only comes from doing one thing exceptionally well.
Jim Collins was right: magic happens when entrepreneurial spirit meets disciplined focus. But only when you have the courage to say no to everything that isn’t your Core Focus.
My manufacturing client is learning this the hard way. Don’t be them.
Stop stealing from your company. Start focusing.
And if staying focused feels harder than it should, don’t go it alone. Find a Professional EOS Implementer to help you protect your Core Focus, cut through the noise, and drive real traction.
P.S. If you can’t clearly articulate your Core Focus in one sentence, you don’t have one. And if you can articulate it but aren’t living it, you’re lying to yourself and taking away from your company’s full potential.
