Focus is scary—until you realize that it only means turning your back on markets you could never have anyway. Sharp focus on jobs that customers are trying to get done holds the promise of greatly improving the odds of success in new-product development.
Interpretation
Focus helps eliminate distractions and increases the chances of success in product development.
This quote emphasizes the importance of focus in product development. By concentrating on the specific needs of customers and overlooking the myriad of other possibilities, businesses can greatly enhance their chances of success in creating products that fulfill real demands. Thus, it suggests that real clarity comes from prioritizing the right tasks and ignoring all others that do not align with customer needs.
In practice
In a business presentation about product strategy, this quote can serve as a reminder to keep the team's efforts aligned with customer demand.
You can talk all you want about having a clear purpose and strategy for your life, but ultimately this means nothing if you are not investing the resources you have in a way that is consistent with your strategy. In the end, a strategy is nothing but good intentions unless it's effectively implemented.
...it's easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time.
Disruptive innovations create jobs, efficiency innovations destroy them.
Don't worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.
Whenever we have thanked these men and women for what they have done for us, without exception they have expressed gratitude for having the chance to help - because they grew as they served.
Intimate, loving, and enduring relationships with our family and close friends will be among the sources of the deepest joy in our lives.
You build a successful career, regardless of your field of endeavor, by the dozens of little things you do on and off the job.
When I was 19, I made my first good week's pay as a club musician. It was enough money for me to quit my job at the factory and still pay the rent and buy some food. I freaked.
If you are seizing on a new business opportunity, deliberately move your customers' expectations up a few notches and consistently over-deliver on your promises - you will leave your competitors struggling to catch up.
Ideally, since 80 percent of your life is spent working, you should start your business around something that is a passion of yours
Control your own destiny or someone else will.
I sometimes think that the only person fit to inherit wealth is the person who doesn't need an inheritance - the person who would create his own fortune no matter what his start in life - and have come to view inherited wealth as an affliction.
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