Entrepreneurs would make Horrible Fish

Entrepreneurs would make horrible fish, right!? Ok… well maybe this one could use a bit of explanation.

Business owners and by association, their businesses, have a bad tendency to get distracted. Gino Wickman, the creator of EOS, calls it “getting caught up with the shiny stuff”. My way of explaining this? Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial businesses would make horrible fish. Picture these entrepreneurial fish swimming around being very distracted by shiny stuff. “Shiny stuff”, as Gino would say, are lures filled with sharp hooks. So, this habit of entrepreneurial businesses getting distracted would end up with them being on the carving table night after night.

Unfortunately, this isn’t all that far from the truth when businesses get sidetracked. Businesses that don’t stay focused on what they are best at end up being the next meal for their competitors. Or, as Jim Collins says, more companies die of indigestion (not staying focused on what makes them great), then from starvation (not having opportunities within their focus).

The lesson here is make sure you and your leadership team are crystal clear on your focus and then make sure you aren’t getting lured off your path by the shiny stuff.