Why Focusing Matters

1. We all have the same number of minutes per year. No one gets more or fewer.

2. Features become products and products become industries. This is the natural evolution as an economy specializies. Firms that focus have the opportunity to find these narrow niches and eventually expand them into industries.

3. The problems with complexity expand quadratically as complexity increases linearly. Things start to conflict in unanticipated ways.

Focusing is difficult

Most organizations cannot focus well. It requires saying "no" to a lot of ideas. It requires not making decisions based on a "middle-of-the-road" path.

There is not a single formula

In 1997, Steve Jobs refocused Apple to build great computers. Using the advantage of integrating hardware and software. This saved the firm. But then he defocused Apple by expanding to the iPod then iPhone. The majorty of the firms revenue now rests on the iPhone. The lesson: drawing the lesson, and boundary of focus, is difficult. No one formula domiantes.