This month, I focus on the key message of a book by Gary Keller. It’s called ‘The One Thing’ and concentrates on developing a strategy to achieve massive goals. To explain the approach, he applies the domino principle to goal-setting, where the goal is demanding, stretching, audacious and enormous in scope and scale. It is best explained by picturing a set of overlapping dominoes equally spaced on a table-top so that if one domino falls, it brings down the next and so forth – no matter in what shape they are configured. When falling, Keller tells us that a single domino has the power to knock down a domino that is 150% as big as itself. That’s important to remember. More on that later.
My message is driven by Keller’s assertion in ‘The One Thing’ that Multitasking is a myth. Research in Neuroscience suggests that we can only consciously focus on one thing at a time to do it well. If we spread our focus across many goals at once, we do none of them well. Some people say that’s not true, citing the example of being able to ‘drive a car and hold a phone call’ simultaneously. Fact-based research tells us that we cannot do this and that it is neither desirable, sensible, safe, nor extremely dangerous. Let’s get back to focusing on that One Big Goal.
What Big Goal will take you to the next level?
This month, I am focusing on the ‘One Thing’ and applying the thinking to the ‘One Big Goal’ that faces you, no matter what type of organisation you work in. I am not talking about small objectives, but the big ‘One Goal’ aspirational will take your organisation to the next level. Let’s focus on the One Big Goal you have to achieve in the next three years.
Aspirational Goals
Depending on your organisation, the big goal could be increasing client and customer acquisition by 50%, improving donations to your Charity by 100%, recruiting more than 30% of the community, improving service or end-user, patient, or recipient care by a challenging percentage, or something else. This is how you can use the thinking.
Putting ‘One Thing’ into Practice
Now, define the desired big goal you want to achieve in 3 years in precise terms. Now consider and answer these six questions.
Impact of taking daily Action on One Big Thing
Remember the beginning of the Blog, where I said that a domino has the mass to knock the next domino over, which is 150% bigger than the original domino – well, this is where things get really exciting. According to the book:
This all started with one domino. So how can you apply this to your One Big Goal?
It means that if you plan your strategy for one big goal, you can do something every day to start achieving it. This, in turn, means you should set yourself this ‘One Big Goal’ and start working on it as soon as you can.
It makes you think – doesn’t it?
The One Thing Notes
Successful people all share a single-minded focus on a single subject or passion. The goal had to be enormous and all-consuming. One obstacle that inhibits focus on a single thing is the belief that every task is equally essential for progress,
What single thing will make other tasks easier or irrelevant?
To make focus, and the success that it creates, into a habit requires consistent application and reminders. Using focus to pursue individual fulfilment will bring happiness.
Day-to-day strategies that facilitate focus include blocking out time for work on that focus, working toward mastery of a skill or subject, using purposeful rather than entrepreneurial thinking, and building accountability. Success also requires the ability to turn down opportunities, embrace chaos, maintain health, and build a supportive environment.
My message is driven by Keller’s assertion in ‘The One Thing’ that Multitasking is a myth. Research in Neuroscience suggests that we can only consciously focus on one thing at a time to do it well. If we spread our focus across many goals at once, we do none of them well. Some people say that’s not true, citing the example of being able to ‘drive a car and hold a phone call’ simultaneously. Fact-based research tells us that we cannot do this and that it is neither desirable, sensible, safe, nor extremely dangerous. Let’s get back to focusing on that One Big Goal.
What Big Goal will take you to the next level?
This month, I am focusing on the ‘One Thing’ and applying the thinking to the ‘One Big Goal’ that faces you, no matter what type of organisation you work in. I am not talking about small objectives, but the big ‘One Goal’ aspirational will take your organisation to the next level. Let’s focus on the One Big Goal you have to achieve in the next three years.
Aspirational Goals
Depending on your organisation, the big goal could be increasing client and customer acquisition by 50%, improving donations to your Charity by 100%, recruiting more than 30% of the community, improving service or end-user, patient, or recipient care by a challenging percentage, or something else. This is how you can use the thinking.
Putting ‘One Thing’ into Practice
Now, define the desired big goal you want to achieve in 3 years in precise terms. Now consider and answer these six questions.
- What big thing can I do this year to achieve my goal in 3 years?
- What big thing can I do this month to achieve my three-year goal?
- What big thing can I do this week to achieve my goal for this month?
- What big thing can I do today to achieve my goal for this week?
- What big thing can I do right now to achieve my goal for today?
Impact of taking daily Action on One Big Thing
Remember the beginning of the Blog, where I said that a domino has the mass to knock the next domino over, which is 150% bigger than the original domino – well, this is where things get really exciting. According to the book:
- By the 18th domino, the cumulative impact of the initial domino would be to knock over the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- By the 23rd domino, the cumulative impact of the initial domino would be to knock over the Eiffel Tower
- By the 51st domino, the cumulative impact of the initial domino would be to knock something down bigger than Everest
- By the 57th domino, the cumulative impact of the initial domino would be to knock something over the size of the Moon
This all started with one domino. So how can you apply this to your One Big Goal?
It means that if you plan your strategy for one big goal, you can do something every day to start achieving it. This, in turn, means you should set yourself this ‘One Big Goal’ and start working on it as soon as you can.
It makes you think – doesn’t it?
The One Thing Notes
Successful people all share a single-minded focus on a single subject or passion. The goal had to be enormous and all-consuming. One obstacle that inhibits focus on a single thing is the belief that every task is equally essential for progress,
What single thing will make other tasks easier or irrelevant?
To make focus, and the success that it creates, into a habit requires consistent application and reminders. Using focus to pursue individual fulfilment will bring happiness.
Day-to-day strategies that facilitate focus include blocking out time for work on that focus, working toward mastery of a skill or subject, using purposeful rather than entrepreneurial thinking, and building accountability. Success also requires the ability to turn down opportunities, embrace chaos, maintain health, and build a supportive environment.
- Common assumptions about productivity, including work ethic, Multitasking, and setting realistic goals, are contradicted by scientific evidence on what actually creates productivity.
- What single thing can they do to make the rest of their tasks easier or unnecessary?
- Issue visual reminders.
- Focusing on a single purpose can bring happiness while pursuing fulfilment.
- Time-blocking is the key strategy.
- Four factors that obstruct productivity include being unable to turn down opportunities, avoiding chaotic situations, inattention to personal health, and an unsupportive environment.
- The best strategy for productivity is to do fewer things and to focus on them entirely. The best approach is to narrow focus to only the things that make future achievements easier and then build momentum over time.
- Focus on a single product, industry, or niche.
- The focus question is composed of three parts. It refers to doing just one thing, immediately. That thing should be practical and as impactful as possible at that time.
- Ambitious and particular – double turnover in six months
- Visual cues, reminders and being personally accountable.
- Schedule uninterrupted blocks of time to work without distractions, and time to properly unwind after a hard day of work.
- Purposeful thinking is not driven by circumstances, but instead by the single-minded pursuit of a goal.
- Four factors that obstruct productivity include being unable to turn down opportunities, avoiding chaotic situations, inattention to personal health, and an unsupportive environment at work or home.
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