Always Focus on The Ball and Know your Position.

For football fans, you may be familiar with this statement. It is the wish of every coach that his/her players fix their eyes on the ball at all times while instinctively determining the position of their team members in the play field to ensure the ball is moving is with the right people. It then calls that every team member understand their positions very well to ensure the ball is in control and in position as well.
My friend Strive Masiyiwa wrote in a post last week that he had gone to watch a football game with a coach friend of his and the coach took out a paper and started to draw every prayers position before studying it keenly and remarking that they were going to lose the game which they finally lost as he had predicted.
In this case, the players were not properly placed in their positions and by a simple analysis one could predict the outcome of the game. In other words, focus breeds specialization and if this is disrupted, disaster is spelt out squarely. As an individual you are expected to have eyes like those of the coach so that you can predict the outcome in advance and trace the direction the business is taking. It could even help to map out the direction a group, your life or even relationship is taking.
And this statement came to play last week in a meeting I attended. As we explored a certain model somewhere, I proposed an idea which one of the experienced members in the seating reacted by saying, “If we adopt your suggestion fully, at some point one of the individuals will lose focus and get out of the way. Focus is critical here.”
As I sat later that day to ponder on those words, I indeed realized that there was a lot of sense in the words spoken. Focus is very important in the journey of success and should be encouraged even in the age of diversity and technological advancement for us the young generation. In fact the Bible asks us to listen to our wise elders in Proverbs 20:29 which states, “The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their grey head.” The advice of my senior class was very important as I later concluded that day.
Why is focus on the ball so important? To begin with, this statement widely means that we should focus on the task at hand. Robert Green in is his book, Mastery remarks that for an individual to become an expert in a field, they must focus and invest at least 10,000 active work hours to it. When worked out well, he realized that an individual needs at least 10 years before they can master fully any craft. That is why focus is critical.
Focus and mastery of position work hand in hand. This means that if you were to open a business today, it would take you up to about 10 years before you can be a master in that area. So for an individual to be competitive as a sales and marketing agent, they may need to invest up to 10 years in their job before they can become very good in their jobs. As a matter of fact, this is focus on the job in disguise. And it works far too well in virtually all areas of this life.
In the marriage counseling area, focus is also encouraged if the marriage or relationship is to succeed. This is to mean that all you have to focus on is your partner. “Multitasking” on partners reaches a point where someone is confused on what step to take forward in terms of the marriage or relationship goals. Focus, focus, focus.
Let’s explore a point in case of Microsoft and Apple; some big technology giants. One comes from the hardware part and the other comes from the software point. They have remained faithful to their original interests despite diversifying into other areas.
Ask anybody about Microsoft and they will tell you about windows. What if you cornered someone in town and asked them of Apple and they will be like, “Oh! I love the iphone or the Apple Computer model” The search engine google is another example as are some of the other great companies.
In the same companies, individuals are encouraged to specialize. An individual with talent and skill in software development is empowered to be the best in that area. Though they might be encouraged to have an idea in one area or the other in the company, at any point they are asked to invest over 80% of their time in the organization in the craft they intend to be masters in.
This is to mean that each individual while focusing on the ball; that is the organizational goals, they are encouraged to know their positions well. In this case to master their jobs to the best way possible. So as one focuses on the ball, it is very critical for them to focus on their positions too and know what it entails.
Going forward, take time and look at the ball and the players well and determine if you are going to win or lose. If it is a business, determine if you are focused on your mission and vision first. Secondly determine if the people are doing what they are good at and endure that they cooperate well among themselves. With this approach, the #People, #Product and #Process is well catered for and only success is about to knock on your door.
Find it your business, life and relationship goal to always focus on what matters and makes you a better person. Let us succeed in things in life that really matter.
End.
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