Future Cities

One Thing

By: Su-Zette Sparks, Senior Managing Director, Americas Consulting

December 6, 2023 3 Minute Read

One-Thing-OurTake_December-2023-hero

Finding Focus to Help You Crystalize What Really Matters

Our Take Newsletter

Our Take is CBRE’s monthly newsletter, delivering unique insights into today’s most pressing topics.

Learn More

There are no rules in my house. When my son was two years old, I swear the only word on repeat was “no.” So instead of making lots of rules neither of us could remember, I focused on one thing: our values. (Be kind. Be honest. Be respectful. Be curious.)

This one thing has served us from the toddler years…to a brief tour to Mars during middle school…to the excitement of heading to college. Over the years, I never had to remind him not to break curfew (that would be disrespectful) or not to make fun of others (that would be unkind).

And he questions everything. Everything. But he knows his priorities and doesn't allow others to take him off track. All because we focused on values instead of rules…and direction over goals.

So why is focus so important?

Distraction is everywhere—smartphone alerts, push notifications, Teams messages, a colleague dropping by for a chat. Sound familiar?

Email is a particularly insatiable beast. According to McKinsey, we spend 28 percent of our work time on email, checking it 11 times per hour. And 84 percent of us keep email open in the background while we’re working.

Multitasking is a myth, and it steals our time daily.

The reality is that multitasking decreases performance by up to 40%. We’re basically just bouncing back and forth between tasks—but can only process one thing at a time.

Workforce distraction can cost companies 15 times more than sick time due to loss of productivity, or output. With every interruption, it takes us 20-plus minutes to get back into the flow of whatever project we were focused on. In fact, each of us can lose up to three hours due to interruptions throughout the workday.

Do your employees know what they should focus on?

Many leaders and organizations are not so great at setting expectations—often equating goals with tasks rather than outcomes. In fact, most employees don‘t know what is expected of them at work. This directly impacts engagement and retention—all while eroding performance for the business.

Employees are increasingly being asked to do everything, everywhere, all at once. Think of it as trying to find true north without a compass. Most of us get lost.

Bottom line? Lack of focus is expensive.

Your employees’ attention, not just their presence, is your organization’s most valuable resource.

And, not incidentally, this same dynamic applies to how we think about the power of office space and strategic real estate planning to support productivity and alignment to an organization’s values.

Focus is knowing what is important and acting on it. It’s how we find our flow.

As we approach the end of the year, many of us take a moment to think about what’s ahead.

I have a ritual of intentionally setting rhythms in my calendar for the upcoming year. Mondays are for business development. Tuesdays and Thursdays are client meetings only. Wednesdays are to focus, create and connect with my team. And Fridays are dedicated to networking and engaging outside my bubble.

I also use this with leaders and organizations. The structure drives behavior by setting a rhythm of business that focuses work collectively toward a shared goal or outcome.

But there’s one ritual I don’t focus on: I gave up New Year’s resolutions years ago—after all, building new habits all at once can be daunting and is a recipe for failure. Instead, I choose a word or theme to guide my thinking and actions to help me focus throughout the year.

This year my word has been clarity.

I’ve used it to interrogate every meeting, interaction, deliverable, product and outcome against that one thing. Is this meeting going to give the team clarity on this new policy? Will this product give clients clarity on the problem they are trying to solve?

This one thing is my freedom to say no. It crystallizes my priorities and purpose. This one thing focuses my attention on what is important rather than reacting to what others think is urgent.

Focus gives traction.

As I reflect on the year that’s been and look forward to the year ahead, I understand that I can't control the world around me. But I can control what I give attention to…where I focus. And focus is a powerful thing.

What will be your one thing next year?

Contact

Related Insights

Item 0 Item 0 Item 0 Item 0 Item 0 Item 0