Robert Lovelace Discusses Winning with Focus

While driving in my car a few days ago, I passed a driver looking straight down at her cell phone in her lap. I imagine we have all seen drivers looking at phones or texting while driving. We may have even been that driver. The next car I passed also had the same phone thing happening. At least driver #2 had the phone strategically placed on the steering wheel. With phones, social media, alerts, 24-hour news cycles prevalent in our lives, focus can take a back seat.  

It is not that we lack focus, but are we focused on the right things? I read a quote recently referencing “weapons of mass distraction.” The truth hurts sometimes. Bring politics and anything pandemic-related into the mix and it further reduces our ability to truly focus. I have provided consulting services for the better part of my career and always struggle to describe my job to my family and friends. My fellow distracted drivers made me re-visit the topic.

I commonly refer to “what I do” as helping companies/executives/departments/teams solve problems. I arrive at this common denominator after going into detail about a project, client, or work product (Digital assessments anyone? How about a nice technology roadmap? Designing a future-state business process? System evaluation and selection? Say what?!? I have seen a fair number of glazed eyes during these explanations). It came full circle after I stopped staring at other drivers on the road – I help organizations solve problems and focus. I often overlook the focus part. This focus can take many forms –

• Evaluating and selecting software applications
• Setting up data quality groups and procedures
• Devising a plan to fix incorrect data
• Advising on the best approach for an acquisition
• Implementing software
• Redesigning procedures or processes (often prompted by a business event like a merger or acquisition, ERP implementation, etc.)
• Providing expertise that does not currently exist within an organization
• Managing complex projects that your team may not have the capacity to manage

You may think I am calling our clients “unfocused,” but they are usually hyper focused on their business and the tasks at hand. It is that one extra initiative, growth projection, or acquisition that causes additional stress and hardship. One of the best things we provide is focus. Simple, straight forward focus. This focus helps companies maintain attention on their business and day-to-day functions. And sets the stage for scaling their business, ensuring a successful IPO, completing a smooth merger/acquisition, or undertaking a software implementation or transformation effort.