Coach Mapes

Focus on the opportunity

Peter Drucker was an educator and management philosophy guru that arguably was the greatest contributor to new thinking about business management in the 20th century. One principle he espoused that captured my mind and changed my thinking as a leader was this: “Put your maximum resources on your maximum opportunities.” The book he wrote that contains this gem is maybe thirty years old and is yet to be fully understood and appreciated by many managers everywhere. I believe it is true and it is obvious by observation that many leaders use the principle in life, not just business. Take baseball for instance where the most powerful and dangerous hitter is usually the “clean-up” or fourth in the lineup because if he comes up to bat in the first inning it means he will have somebody on base to hit in. In football the quarterback is usually the best combination of athleticism and intelligence on the team so he can touch the ball on almost every play in an attempt to score on every play. The same in basketball put the ball in the hands of the best athlete and scorer as much as possible, creating plays to open them up for clear shots.

For an individual it means to focus on developing your strengths and only spend minimal time overcoming weaknesses. Someone really good in art should not spend their time trying to become a math wizard if they do not have the aptitude for math. In organizations some problems are opportunities waiting for a solution, but most time they are the result of things just needing some attention. The failure comes when organizations put their best people on the problems when they should instead be developing the next “big thing.”

As individuals it means we should spend time thinking about what we like, what we have a passion for, what we have ability in to spend our time becoming better at those things. It also means we think strategically to figure out how to cover our weaknesses in ways that don’t detract from pursuing our future opportunities.

Start by writing down the things you’re good at and love doing, then think about how you could do more of that and become better at it, writing it down too. Then write down the things you have to do but you’re not good at or not really interested in doing. Write down who could help you with that or do it for you. See how liberating these simple actions are and let me know about it.