Are you distracted or singleminded?

Most people believe that they should build on their strengths. Very few people believe that they should neglect their strengths to focus on just their weaknesses. I agree.

But here's the problem. Most people are also uncomfortable about focusing exclusively on their strengths and neglecting their weaknesses. They want to do both. They want to fix their weaknesses AND build on their strengths. It seems like a reasonable approach but it is destined to fail.

As Seth Godin explains in his recent post, competing with the singleminded, a company that focuses exclusively in one area will almost always defeat a competitor that is trying to do a lot of things well.

"When you have someone who is willing to accomplish A without worrying about B and C, they will almost always defeat you in accomplishing A. . . The singleminded have a fantastic advantage. And sometimes, their singleminded focus on accomplishing just that one thing (whatever it is) pushes them through the Dip far ahead of you and then yes, they make a ton of money and you've lost forever."

The same principle applies to individuals. While you are busy diffusing your time and energy broadly in an effort to improve in a variety of different areas, someone else is obsessively developing their strengths and flaunting their weaknesses. They aren't allowing their weaknesses to distract them from focusing on the areas in which they have the greatest potential.

If you want to win, in your career or your business, you need to be singleminded. Don't let your weaknesses and the goal of being well-rounded keep you from a maniacal focus on improving your strengths.

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Comments

[David Rendall]

Logana,

Thank you for your comment. You raise some important questions.

First, I agree that overall personal happiness is very important. I think that work can either contribute or detract from that. My career advice is different than my advice on relationships. However, if we are fulfilled at work and find the right fit, we will have more to offer our friends and loved ones.

Second, we don't have complete control over our environments but we do have a lot of control. Your example is exactly what I am suggesting and it is an excellent technique. If you struggle with alcoholism, don't go to a bar. Drug abuse counselors also try to help addicts find new environments that will help them avoid a relapse after completing rehab.

Even if we can't create a perfect environment, we can continually seek to create a better one that fits our unique characteristics.

You can find a more comprehensive explanation of the freak factor in this free short ebook www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor

I hope this response is helpful. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Dave

[Logana]

Hmmm... I'd undoubtedly agree that the more singleminded you are, the more successful you are likely to be in your chosen field, especially when you can control your environment to minimise the importance of your weaknesses. However there are two things which bug me a little about this philosophy:
a) Traditional success in a given field is not always as condusive to happiness as many think it will be, e.g. if you forgo working on your interpersonal relations because you can be a much better computer programmer that way, you might end up very lonely and depressed, while more well rounded, less 'successful' people are happier?
b) We can't always control our environments. To use an OTT example to illustrate, isn't it a bit like not working on an inherent tendency towards addiction but trying to ensure you don't enter situations of temptation? When one does arrive, you are, of course, much more vulnerable.

[David Rendall]

Sharon,

Thank you for your message. Your perspective is very common and that is why I write about the Freak Factor.

1. I have tried to get better at sitting, listening and doing what I'm told. I have a graduate degree in counseling but I still don't like to listen and I don't do it well.

2. Trying to fix weaknesses just makes you mediocre and it isn't worth the effort. I'm never going to be the best in those areas.

3. Weaknesses are situational. Since I run my own business as a speaker, I get paid to stand up and talk and I don't have to do what I'm told. It would be a waste of time to work on my sitting, listening and following skils because they aren't relevant to my life.

4. We all have a limited amount of time and energy. We need to direct them toward activities that will lead to meaningful results. Trying to fix weaknesses saps our energy, wastes our time and damages our confidence.

I explain the Freak Factor in a more structured way in this short ebook www.changethis.com/45.02.freakfactor

If you'd like a more detailed explanation, you might enjoy it.

I appreciate your feedback and would love to hear from you again.

Dave

[Sharon]

Agree that we must focus on our strengths and develop on it. But at the same time I believe we must learn from our weakness and not repeat, like Dave you said that "you spent my whole life getting in trouble because I couldn't sit down, be quiet or do what I was told". Then you should learn to be still and listen more and be submissive or obedient and do what you are told to do. So if you change your weaknesses then you would make improve and soon you would have less weakness.

[Joseph Joel Sherman]

Dave,
Thank you for this post. When I saw it on Seth Godin's blog, the application to my life was not so evident. I have many interests and pursuits. Sometimes this means choosing one path over another, sometimes it means postponing a project until I can devote enough energy to it.

At one point I thought about learning Mandarin. I enjoyed my time studying in China and the economy is growing. After serious consideration, I realized it would take me several years of intense Mandarin study to speak at a professional level. Anything less and I would speak like a school kid. My time would be better spent improving on the languages that I knew at an intermediate level and could easily perfect.

During the last two years I have been a member of Toastmasters International to improve my public speaking skills. I have said yes to one skill and no to many others. There has been no magic formula to becoming a better speaker. Many people continue to help me along the way. Being single minded, by focusing only on speaking better, I have improved considerably.
thank you,
Joseph

[David Rendall]

Pele,

Thank you for your comments. You make a very important point and I agree that "your environment is as responsible for your success as you are."

This is why my primary recommendation in The Freak Factor is for people to seek out and move into situations that highlight their strengths and make their weaknesses irrelevant. As you explained, apparent weaknesses are situationally dependent. Instead of changing ourselves, which is very difficult and painful, we can simply change the situation.

For example, I spent my whole life getting in trouble because I couldn't sit down, be quiet or do what I was told. Now, as a professor, speaker and entrepreneur, I get paid to stand up (not sit down), talk (not be quiet) and run my own business (not do what I'm told). I haven't fixed any of my weaknesses. I've put myself in situations that reward me for who I am and make my weaknesses irrelevant.

The blog and my e-book are full of other examples that illustrate this point and can further answer your question. I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you have any follow up questions. I'd love to talk with you more.

Dave

[Pele Raymond Ugboajah, PhD]

Dave, just a footnote: my statement above is based on the idea that your environment is as responsible for your success as you are. In a vacuum, your hypothesis would be flawless; but when people live and work in interdependent corporate (or otherwise) environments, the interpersonal weaknesses can really drag you down. Your thoughts?

[Pele Raymond Ugboajah, PhD]

This is a nice idea, but not 100% practical. Here's why: sometimes, your success is derailed by your weaknesses, and NOT because your strengths were not present or well developed. Reducing the potential that your weaknesses will not derail you is as important a job as focusing on your strengths. There is some truth that focusing exclusively on improving strengths is a sound strategy, but only if you are not one of those whose weaknesses are so debilitating that they can bring ruin to an entire success plan.