Focus

We all need to focus. We know we are spread too thin.

We need to courage to face this important issue. Ignoring will imperil our efforts.

A very famous  internal document (written in 2006) by Brad Garlinghouse, a Yahoo senior vice president, chronicles how Yahoo was spreading its resources too thinly, like peanut butter on a slice of bread. It is cautionary to us all.

We lack clarity of ownership and accountability. The most painful manifestation of this is the massive redundancy that exists throughout the organization. We now operate in an organizational structure — admittedly created with the best of intentions — that has become overly bureaucratic. For far too many employees, there is another person with dramatically similar and overlapping responsibilities. This slows us down and burdens the company with unnecessary costs.

via Yahoo Memo: The ‘Peanut Butter Manifesto’ 

So what does Brad think 6 years after writing the memo?

If a business has to be told that it needs more focus, accountability and decisiveness, there is a bigger problem at hand. Truly successful businesses encourage these qualities innately by creating and fostering a culture that inspires each individual to perform at their peak and rewards passion and results without peanut buttering the end of year bonus.