Be the Best at What Matters Most: The Only Strategy You will Ever Need

5

Different Answers—All of Them Right

Wide Open Choices

I could have written a much shorter book and made a lot of people happy if there were one simple answer to what matters the most. How much easier for all of us to just say, “What matters the most is making a profit. Now go forth and prosper.”

For most people, this process can be equal parts satisfying and frustrating.

But what ultimately makes it so rewarding is that your choices are wide open. The challenge and opportunity is to simplify and focus on what speaks to your head and your heart, while at the same time being effective in driving the daily activities of you and your team that will sustain and grow the business.

Let's simplify some versions of what matters most for some companies. Although I am numbering the “matters most” items, it's not necessarily in any order of importance. I number them to make the point that it's seldom more than a very small number of things that truly matter most.

Joe Calloway

1. Always put family first.

2. Do quality work.

3. Do work that makes us happy.

4. Always be easy and a pleasure to work with.

I have absolute clarity about what matters most to me. It's my family and creating time to be with them. If my business is working the way it should work, then I'm able to go to the school fair, read books to my first grader's class, and not spend more than a certain number of nights away from home every month. Success for me is now measured in how I spend my time, rather than how much money ...