I played tennis this morning and then came back to watch the final of the tennis tournament on the grass at Queen’s Club to see how it should be done! One of the things that struck me was that the difference between the absolutely top professional tennis players who regularly win the tournaments and the very talented who do so rarely is simple. It is their ability to focus on and play the key crucial points in the games really well.
Pete Sampras once said “The difference of great players is at a certain point in a match they raise their level of play and maintain it. Lesser players play great for a set, but then less.”
It is this ability to focus and to know when to do so that translates so well into our professional world. Of course, as lawyers or doctors or commercial managers we must always strive to be the best we can at our jobs. That is the very essence of professionalism. But there are times in our careers and in transactions or consultations when the “big points” come up. Those deal closings or management decisions which really matter to our organisations and to our clients. The times when we can distinguish ourselves in the eyes of our clients and really make a difference.
This means distilling out from the mass of daily problems and challenges things that in the long run will really matter and make a difference to our organisations and also to our individual careers. When it really matters to be able to raise our game and make a difference. I know it sounds obvious and simple but under the pressures of day to day working life this is not easy.
This Harvard Business Review article How to Focus on What’s Important, Not Just What’s Urgent comments “Do you get to the end of the day and feel that you’ve met your most pressing deadlines but haven’t accomplished anything that’s fundamentally important? You’re hardly alone. In a series of studies recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people typically chose to complete tasks that had very short deadlines attached to them, even in situations in which tasks with less pressing deadlines were just as easy and promised a bigger reward.” It then suggests some techniques for concentrating on what really matters including:
The last is really interesting because in sport and professional life it is easy to get nervous or anxious on match point and not go for that big serve – as the article says Many important tasks involve tolerating thinking about things that could go wrong, which is anxiety-provoking.
It is perhaps about having the courage to see the bigger picture and to know when to really focus our efforts. Warren Buffet proposes a “3-step” 5/25 Strategy: How to Focus and Prioritize Your Time Like a Billionaire. This essentially involves identifying your top 25 goals and then choose your 5 most important goals.
Here are some quotes I like on this topic on setting and focusing on key points and goals.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” —Andrew Carnegie
“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.” —Steve Garvey the American baseball player
And returning to tennis “Set realistic goals, keep re-evaluating, and be consistent.” – Venus Williams
And if we fail to win the first match point (or achieve a key goal first time round) – then win (or do so) the second or third – Confucius advised “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”
Pete Sampras once said “The difference of great players is at a certain point in a match they raise their level of play and maintain it. Lesser players play great for a set, but then less.”
It is this ability to focus and to know when to do so that translates so well into our professional world. Of course, as lawyers or doctors or commercial managers we must always strive to be the best we can at our jobs. That is the very essence of professionalism. But there are times in our careers and in transactions or consultations when the “big points” come up. Those deal closings or management decisions which really matter to our organisations and to our clients. The times when we can distinguish ourselves in the eyes of our clients and really make a difference.
This means distilling out from the mass of daily problems and challenges things that in the long run will really matter and make a difference to our organisations and also to our individual careers. When it really matters to be able to raise our game and make a difference. I know it sounds obvious and simple but under the pressures of day to day working life this is not easy.
This Harvard Business Review article How to Focus on What’s Important, Not Just What’s Urgent comments “Do you get to the end of the day and feel that you’ve met your most pressing deadlines but haven’t accomplished anything that’s fundamentally important? You’re hardly alone. In a series of studies recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people typically chose to complete tasks that had very short deadlines attached to them, even in situations in which tasks with less pressing deadlines were just as easy and promised a bigger reward.” It then suggests some techniques for concentrating on what really matters including:
- Schedule Important Tasks, and Give Yourself Way More Time Than You’ll Need
- Isolate the Most Impactful Elements of Important Tasks
- Spend Less Time on Unimportant Tasks
- Prioritize Tasks That Will Reduce Your Number of Urgent but Unimportant Tasks
- Anticipate and Manage Feelings of Anxiety
The last is really interesting because in sport and professional life it is easy to get nervous or anxious on match point and not go for that big serve – as the article says Many important tasks involve tolerating thinking about things that could go wrong, which is anxiety-provoking.
It is perhaps about having the courage to see the bigger picture and to know when to really focus our efforts. Warren Buffet proposes a “3-step” 5/25 Strategy: How to Focus and Prioritize Your Time Like a Billionaire. This essentially involves identifying your top 25 goals and then choose your 5 most important goals.
Here are some quotes I like on this topic on setting and focusing on key points and goals.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” —Andrew Carnegie
“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.” —Steve Garvey the American baseball player
And returning to tennis “Set realistic goals, keep re-evaluating, and be consistent.” – Venus Williams
And if we fail to win the first match point (or achieve a key goal first time round) – then win (or do so) the second or third – Confucius advised “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”
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