Lessons from a Very Focused Black Bear

Daydreaming during my morning coffee last week, I was jolted into the present by a good sized black bear strolling past the window, just a few feet from the house. Rumored to be in the East Woods area, I had never seen one around here before, so was somewhat shocked that he (she?) chose to stroll through my yard. However, more impressive, and somewhat comforting, was that none of our human-ness seemed to deter him from his path – no sniffing the grill, no pawing at the well-fermented trash cans, and no notice of the dog smells about the yard. He was clearly focused on his goal of getting somewhere soon, a trait that many businesses (and their leaders) could probably all use a little more of.

The ability to have and, more importantly, maintain a focus on a goal is a primary factor in any successful enterprise, be it sales numbers, product development milestones, or strategic partnerships. There are many aspects conspiring to pull us off track and have us take un-rewarding, though seemingly appropriate side tracks. Here are a few of the paths to avoid, which can lead to short-term feelings of success but ultimately compromising the real goal.

• The customer outside of your core target area that says that they can see dozens of these devices being used by all their peers. If they get a good deal, they’ll be sure to be a spread the good word and get you many more sales.
• The noisy customer who implores the development team to include his favorite features or else the product will be useless. If Mr. Noisy represents the bulk of the market, then listen to him. If he is an outlier, then politely thank him and ignore his requests.
• The partner that says they will get you access to all these tremendous markets, which currently none of your products or services address. Tempting as this might be, it will not further your need to grow unless you are ready to invest heavily in development for a few years.

Though it is easy to get lured into the tasty smelling opportunities that are brought to you every week, you need to focus like our black bear, and ruthlessly avoid these side paths unless they are moving you your towards your well-crafted goals.