Why Doing Less Achieves So Much More Every Time
You might be proud of your to-do list—ten big projects, a dozen side missions. It feels ambitious. But have you ever noticed that by the end of the week you’ve barely chipped away at any of them?
Imagine Jessica, a sales director who vowed to improve customer loyalty, launch a referral program, enhance team training, overhaul her reporting system, and expand into a new market—all in one quarter. She found herself scrambling, her team exhausted, and none of her goals fully realized.
Contrast that with Mark, who narrowed his focus to just two goals: increase repeat sales by 15 percent and reduce customer wait times by 50 percent. Every team meeting, every email, and every coaching conversation pointed straight at those two targets. Before long, both metrics soared—while Mark still had time to mentor rising stars.
When you concentrate on fewer goals, you concentrate your energy. The distraction of too many priorities lifts, decisions get easier, and momentum builds. Narrowing the focus isn’t cutting corners; it’s putting your best foot forward where it counts most.
Start by listing all your team’s goals, then rank them quickly by their impact on your biggest priority. Circle the top 20 percent and select only one or two Wildly Important Goals. When you stop spreading effort thin and focus on what truly moves the needle, your results will surprise you—give it a try this week.
What You'll Achieve
You’ll gain mental clarity and reduced overwhelm, fostering a sense of purpose and confidence. Externally, your team will direct energy to the highest-value initiatives and achieve measurable progress on your most critical goals.
Narrow Down Your Goal List
Gather every active goal
Set a timer for five minutes and write down every project, target, or initiative you and your team are actively pursuing. Include short-term and long-term goals to see the full scope.
Rank by impact
Next to each goal, estimate its impact on your organization’s biggest priority. Give it a simple score of 1 to 5 based on potential return to isolate the few most crucial.
Apply the 80/20 rule
Circle the top 20 percent of goals by impact—you will find that these few will drive the majority of desired results. Everything else becomes discretionary at best.
Choose one to two WIGs
From that circled list, select only one or two Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) to focus on this quarter. Commit your team’s best energy to these and defer or delegate the rest.
Reflection Questions
- Which three goals on my list deliver the greatest impact if achieved?
- What risks do I face by saying “no” to lower-impact goals this quarter?
- How can I communicate my narrowed focus to my team to secure their buy-in?
- What one or two WIGs will truly move our mission forward if we hit them?
- How will I note progress on my chosen WIGs each week?
Personalization Tips
- At school: If you juggle seven clubs, choose your two favorites to pour your best effort into and gracefully step back from the others.
- For health: Instead of setting ten fitness goals, pick your top two (e.g., run 5K twice weekly and eat five servings of vegetables daily).
- At home: Narrow your spring cleaning to your entryway and kitchen for one month before moving on to other rooms.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals
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