life and your work can quickly become frustrating. And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals. These goals then serve as your
compass, helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course. Your Focus is powerful because it forces you to
filter; you instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help you move toward your goal. Those that don’t are ignored. In the end, then, your
Focus forces you to be efficient. Naturally, the flip side of this is that it causes you to become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no
matter how intriguing they appear to be. This makes you an extremely valuable team member. When others start to wander down other avenues, you bring
them back to the main road. Your Focus reminds everyone that if something is not helping you move toward your destination, then it is not important. And
if it is not important, then it is not worth your time. You keep everyone on point.
Focus Sounds Like This:
Nick H., computer executive: “It is very important to me to be efficient. I’m the sort of guy who plays a round of golf in two and a half hours. When I was at
Electronic Data Systems, I worked out a set list of questions so that I could conduct a review of each division in 15 minutes. The founder, Ross Perot,
called me ‘The Dentist’ because I would schedule a whole day of these in-and-out, fifteen-minute meetings.”
Brad F., sales executive: “I am always sorting priorities, trying to figure out the most efficient route toward the goal so that there is very little dead time,
very little wasted motion. For example, I will get multiple calls from customers who need me to call the service department for them, and rather than taking
each one of these calls as they come and interrupting the priorities of the day, I group them together into one call at the end of the day and get it done.”
Mike L., administrator: “People are amazed how I put things into perspective and stay on track. When people around the district are stuck on issues and
caught on contrived barriers, I am able to pole-vault over them, reestablish the focus, and keep things moving.”
Doriane L., homemaker: “I am just the kind of person who likes to get to the point—in conversations, at work, and even when I am shopping with my
husband. He likes to try on lots of things and has a good time doing it, whereas I try one thing on, and if I like it and it is not horribly priced, I buy it. I’m a
surgical shopper.”
Ideas for Action
When you set goals, discipline yourself to include timelines and measurements. These will provide regular proof that you are indeed
making progress.
Seek roles in which you can function independently. With your dominant Focus talents, you will be able to stay on track with little
supervision.

