Stop Firefighting: The 10x Power of a Single 90-Day Focus
Mastering Business Flow | Episode 6
Stop Firefighting: The 10x Power of a Single 90-Day Focus
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Episode Guide:
00:00 – The 10x Myth: Why working less often yields the biggest results.
01:43 – Escaping "Groundhog Day" and the cycle of repetitive business problems.
03:45 – The Magnifying Glass: How to concentrate your "diffused" energy.
07:15 – The 90-Day Strategy: Identifying your "Big Rock" for the quarter.
11:15 – The Control Trap: Why outcome-based goals actually slow you down.
13:30 – The SMARTER Framework: A checklist for goals that actually stick.
19:15 – The Stoplight Dashboard: Making your progress visible in Red and Green.
21:20 – The Weekly Pulse: Keeping the momentum alive through accountability.
Why Focus is Your Greatest Competitive Advantage
Most business owners live in a state of "perpetual motion." They are busy from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, putting out fires, answering emails, and juggling projects. But at the end of the quarter, they look back and realize they haven't actually moved forward. They are just exhausted.
I call this the Business Groundhog Day effect. If you want to break the cycle, you don't need to work 10 times harder. You need the power of The One Thing.
The Magnifying Glass Effect
We often hear about "10x growth" and assume it requires a superhuman level of effort. In reality, 10x is about concentration, not volume.
Think of ambient sunlight. It’s everywhere, but it’s harmless. However, if you take a magnifying glass and focus those same rays into a single point, you can start a fire. Your business energy works the same way. When you are diffused across ten different goals, you are "harmless." When you are hyper-focused on one, you become a force of nature.
Why 90 Days?
Many people get paralyzed trying to create a 10-year vision. While long-term vision is valuable, research (including Jim Collins’ Good to Great) shows that most great companies didn't start with a perfect vision. They started by solving the most important problem right in front of them.
The 90-day window is the "Goldilocks" of planning:
It’s long enough to achieve a significant, complex milestone.
It’s short enough to create a healthy "tension" that prevents procrastination.
How to Find Your "One Thing"
To find your focus, ask yourself the "Focusing Question" (popularized by Gary Keller in his book “The One Thing”):
"What is the ONE thing I can do this quarter such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"
1. Filter the "Could-Dos"
List everything you feel you "should" do this quarter. Then, be ruthless. Cross out the "could-dos" until you find the one domino that, when knocked over, will topple the rest of your problems.
2. Focus on Inputs, Not Outcomes
This is the biggest mistake I see. A business owner says, "My goal is to make $100k this month." That is a wish, not a goal. You cannot control the money; you can only control the actions that lead to the money.
Always set your 90-day goal based on the inputs you control.
The Outcome Goal (The Result)
Let’s say your goal is: "Close $50,000 in new contracts this month."
This is an Outcome Goal. While it is a great target, you don't actually have 100% control over it. You can be the best salesperson in the world, but if a prospect’s budget gets frozen or their board of directors says "not right now," you miss your goal despite your hard work. When you focus solely on outcomes, you often feel like a failure because of factors you can't influence.
The Input Goal (The Action)
Now, let's look at the Input Goal for that same scenario: "Conduct 15 discovery calls and send 10 personalized follow-up videos every week."
This is an action you have 100% control over. Regardless of whether the client says "yes" or "no," you can look at your dashboard on Friday afternoon and know exactly whether you succeeded. You can decide to pick up the phone; you cannot decide to make someone sign a check.
Why Input Goals Lead to 10x Results
Focusing on inputs is more effective for three reasons:
It builds "Winning" Momentum: When you hit your input goals consistently, you build the confidence and discipline needed to stay in the game long enough for the results to show up.
It diagnoses the problem: if you hit your inputs (15 calls) but didn't get the outcome ($50k), you now have data. You know the problem isn't your "effort"—it's likely your "sales script" or your "target audience."
It provides a roadmap for your team: If you tell a team "Make more money," they get anxious. If you tell them "Send 10 high-quality emails today," they get to work.
The SMARTER Framework
Once you have your "One Thing," run it through the SMARTER filter to ensure it’s actionable:
Specific: No vague language. What exactly are you doing?
Measurable: Can you prove you did it with a "Yes" or "No"?
Actionable: Start with an action verb (e.g., "Publish," "Call," "Design").
Risky: If it’s too easy, you won't grow. It should feel slightly uncomfortable.
Time-bound: Define the frequency or the hard deadline.
Exciting: You need internal "pull" to keep going when things get tough.
Relevant: Does this actually align with your vision and your niche?
Turning Focus into Results
A goal without a system is just a dream. To make your "One Thing" a reality, you need two things: Visibility and Cadence.
1. The Stoplight Dashboard
Don’t hide your progress in a 50-page report. Create a simple, one-page dashboard. Use the "Stoplight Method":
Green: We are on track.
Red: We are behind and need to pivot.
When your goals are visual and front-and-center, they stay top-of-mind.
2. The Weekly Pulse
You must have a scheduled time to review your progress.
For Teams: A weekly leadership meeting where every person reports on their specific number.
For Solopreneurs: A weekly "CEO Hour" e to review the previous week’s metrics and plan the next week’s inputs.
Conclusion
Success is a game of dominoes. You don't have to tackle the giant obstacle at the end of the line today. You just have to find the first 2-inch domino to get your 90-day "One Thing" started. Find the next step, build on your success, and climb the top of that mountain!
Stop the grind. Start the flow.
Take the Next Step
Ready to stop firefighting and start scaling?
The Off-site: If you have a team and want to get everyone aligned around a single scorecard, I facilitate Leadership Off-sites to help you install these systems in a single day. Book a consultation call today.
