Are You Focused or Fuzzy?

One of The 25 Most Important Things I’ve Learned

Most people operate in what I call the Fuzzy zone. Learning to focus is one of the most important lessons I have learned, as it can significantly improve outcomes.

By way of background, I have been a consultant, speaker, and trainer for over 30 years, working with more than 500 B2B sales teams. Recently, a client suggested I compile and share the 25 most important lessons I have learned. To refine my list, I applied the following criteria:
1. It had to be an important lesson – one which has the potential to dramatically affect a person, a sales team, or a business- not superficial or trivial.
2.  It had to arise out of my personal experience.  In other words, not something that I garnered from a book or borrowed from someone else. Something I’ve learned in the trenches.
3.  It had to have been tested in the caldron of real-world experience.  No blue-sky stuff.
4.  I had to unwaveringly vouch for its validity.  These are concepts and lessons that I would stand behind.

Through this process, I narrowed the list to 25 lessons. I have already completed several, which are linked below. The next lesson is: Most people operate in the Fuzzy zone. Learning to focus can make everything better.

Let’s begin with some definitions.  Fuzzy refers to the way many people think about things and decide what to do.  Fuzzy means that their observations, concepts, and decisions are vague and general. Focused means that their ideas, their observations, and their decisions are precise.

For example, I often teach B2B salespeople how to improve their skills. In one module on asking better questions, I ask participants to commit to applying the practice. Frequently, I hear responses like, “Asking better questions is a good idea. I’ll try to do that.” While well-intentioned, this commitment is too vague to drive real change and is easily forgotten.

In contrast, if a salesperson commits to, “I’ll spend time before every sales call creating at least three good questions I want to ask,” the commitment is precise and measurable. Clearly, the focused approach is more likely to result in changed behavior. Shifting from fuzzy to focused thinking can make a significant difference.

While the example I used speaks to salespeople, I find examples of fuzzy thinking at every level of an organization, and I find it so commonly that it is the rule, not the exception. I’ve often thought of my work as a consultant as helping people move from fuzzy to focused.

Here’s an example from sales management.  Let’s say a manager wants his sales team to spend more time acquiring new customers.  The fuzzy way would be to give a direction like this: “We need new customers, guys. So, I want you to spend more time cold calling and developing prospects.”  Because the direction if fuzzy, it likely won’t make a bit of change.  However, if that same sales manager could energize the team by being more focused: “We need new customers.  A new customer is someone who has not purchased from us in two years and spends at least $1,000 in a two-month period.  In the next quarter, I’m expecting to see two new customers from each of you.”

Not only does the more focused direction stimulate the kind of behavior you want, but the opposite is also true.  Fuzzy directions lead to differing expectations, frustration and conflict.  For example, our fuzzy sales manager may be confronted with a difference of opinion about what constitutes a new customer.  Or, what “more time cold calling” means.  The fuzzy direction actually encourages misunderstandings and conflict.

Here’s another example from my world.  I’ve often been asked how to help reactive, customer-service-type inside salespeople become more proactive. That will not happen if you ask the salespeople to “Spend some time every day making outbound calls.”  It is far more likely to stimulate behavior if you say, “I’m expecting you to make ten outbound sales calls to existing customers each day and record the calls and results on the CRM system.”  One direction is fuzzy, the other focused.

While these examples are from the world of sales, the concept applies to many different situations. For example, I often facilitate small group meetings. I’ve found that beginning with a focused question dramatically impacts the quality of the interaction.  In one CEO roundtable meeting, for example,  the host announced that he wanted “to discuss employee engagement.”  The group sat silently.  I suggested that we focus on the question, “What are some things we have done, or seen done, to promote employee engagement? Let’s create a list.” The group jumped right in and began a spirited discussion.  The difference was focused versus fuzzy.

In any group discussion that has the objective of coming to a decision or creating an action plan, the more focused the starting point, the more likely there is a positive outcome.  Not only that, but the ending direction can make all the difference in stimulating positive action. Whether it is a strategic planning meeting, a home Bible study, or anything in between, asking for a focused commitment will dramatically enhance the likelihood of positive action to follow.

The process of setting goals is fertile ground for moving from fuzzy to focus.  “I’m going to lose weight” is a good intention, but too fuzzy to prompt any changed behavior. “I’ll weight 200 pounds on September 1” is focused and much more likely to stimulate positive action.

In our Menta-Morphosis® Learning system, for example, we conclude every learning experience with the challenge to create a Precise Prescription.  This is a commitment that begins with the words, “I will….” and then describes a specific, verifiable behavior that has arisen out of the content presented. And in our Kahle Way® Selling System programs, we require the salespeople taking the course to actually practice the skill being taught by completing focused application exercises.

All because we’ve learned that moving from fuzzy to focused makes everything better.