Focus on Key Values

Focus. Our lives are full of distractions. There are so many opportunities and so many demands on our time. Typically it isn't a matter of not having anything to do but of making the decision of WHAT to do.

Organizations create mission and value statements, tag lines, buttons and badges with a few key thoughts or concepts of what is important and what they want employees to focus on: "Customer First", "DIRTFT" (Do IT Right The First Time), "Save Money," "Clean, Fast and Friendly," "Safety Now" to name a few. When decisions need to be made or some action needs to be taken the organization typically measures the potential response to the organization's focus. Thomas J. Peters & Robert H. Waterman, Jr have said, Excellent companies focus on only a few key business values…. The focus on a few key values lets everyone know what’s important.

Apply this strategy to your life. Do you have a personal mission statement that you measure against your focus? Does the mission statement include each of the 3-rings of your circus? Are you measuring your daily activities and focus against that mission statement? What if we change the Peters/Waterman quote to say, "Excellent individuals focus on only a few key values…The focus of a few key values lets everyone know what’s important". Maybe we need to go as far as creating a button or a badge to remind us: "Super Dad!", "Results Driven", "I Choose to Be Happy", "Physically Fit", "Friend." What would your button say?