There are some stories which stay with you, and still make sense a long time after. This is one such.
But before that, let me talk a bit about the most important thing for startups.
Focus, I have long believed, is the most important thing. When you're less on resources, you need to spend wisely. Whether it's your time, or money. Focus helps you declutter, and invest in what truly matters. With focus, comes speed and the ability to out-execute your competitors. Lack of resources, often leads to better focus. But I have talked about focus in another post, and I digress.
But there's something else. Something that seems like the opposite of focus, yet is incredibly important.
Let me share the story first.
Back in high school, I walked alongside who I knew to be the best soccer player I had known.
One such day, I asked him the obvious question: What separates the good soccer player from the rest?
His answer was enlightening:
- A good soccer player is adept at focusing on the ball and controlling it with their feet.
- A better soccer player can control the ball all right, but takes occasional glances away from the ball to the players around them.
- But the best soccer players? They can do something magical. They can pause the game in their mind. Leave the field, and watch the game from the eyes of an impassioned spectator.
This gives them perspective. Perspective feeds strategy. Strategy wins games.
Coming back to the second most important thing for startups – it's perspective.
I realized this intimately while running my previous startup. The business was stuck in a rut. And I couldn't move it out. I lost perspective.
Every other founder I talked to, I could see with crystal clarity the nature of their business, and what needed to be done. And years later, they would come back and thank me for it.
But in my own business? The clarity was lost. My thoughts were all muddled.
Perspective is what you lose when you focus too much, at least, it did for me. The solution wasn't as simple as taking a day off. My mind didn't work like that. I needed to focus on something completely different.
For me, it was trekking the Himalayas. For others, it might be sport, or music, or maybe another business entirely. It was only when I immersed myself in something else that I could break out of the rut and think afresh.
And perspective? It would come back. Just like that.
Focus without perspective leads to tunnel vision. Perspective without focus leads nowhere. The magic happens when you can nurture both.
Would love to hear your thoughts. What helps you gain fresh perspective when you're stuck?