“Failing to plan is planning to fail,” right?
Nearly. But not quite.
Like you, my clients are financial advisers.
They plan for a living.
They are usually very good at it.
For their clients.
Not for themselves.
It is a classic “plumber’s pipes” situation.
So, if you’re anything like them, what’s going to get you to give your own strategic plans the priority they deserve for the work, risk and time you put in?
Focus.
But here’s the problem: if you’re like the founder and owners of the financial advice firms I advise, they are like amateur firefighters.
Every spark becomes a distraction:
- A worsening issue with an existing good client
- Another drama with a team member
- An over-budget, under-delivering IT project
- A potential compliance problem
Unfortunately, some fires need to burn.
That’s why I’m providing you with my Focus Finder – a tool to help you refocus strategically on WHAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE for you as a founder or owner.
How it works:
It breaks your operations into 4 areas (Attract, Engage, Manage, Scale) with 3 sub-areas each = 12 possible focus areas.
Here’s the hard part: You can only handle ONE high-focus issue every three months. Just one.
(If you have a partner, director, or someone you trust strategically, they get ONE too. That’s it.)
Your job:
- Pick your ONE focus area
- Set a specific, measurable 90 Day Outcome that a 15-year-old could understand that clearly indicates progress for your ONE focus area
- Go for that outcome, minimising all other strategic distractions for 90 days.
Team approach (even better): Have each strategic team member complete the Focus Finder independently, then run a 45-minute meeting (someone else chairs, not you) to understand the specific 90 Day Outcome for everyone’s ONE focus area.
Then execute.
Download my Focus Finder here and try it out.
It should only take 15 minutes to complete (otherwise you’re getting distracted!).
If you involve your team, it should take about 45 minutes to discuss.
That’s it.
If you find it useful, could you forward this email to another founder who’s fighting fires?
If you get stuck using it or something else, comment below – I read every response.
What do you reckon?
Jim
Photo Credit: CANVA_photos_MAEEJ8Pz_rQ