Focus Oriented Execution
Why focus is not just doing one thing, and how to hard wire it into a real startup.
Why focus matters
Every startup needs focus. One of the main startup killers is defocus. As much as focus is vital for startup health and execution, managers often perceive it wrongly.
They think that focus is “doing one thing,” or that:
Focus = saying yes only to the loudest customer.
Focus = working longer hours (hustle).
Focus = fewer meetings by default.
Focus = shipping fast even if quality and reliability suffer.
Focus = cutting headcount or scope everywhere.
Focus = a once a year plan that should not change.
Focus = centralizing every decision at the top (micromanagement).
Focus = short term revenue only, while platform and resilience can wait.
generated by chatGPT 5
But in reality, a company always deals with many things in parallel: employees do different tasks, there are different research tracks, different technologies, different departments, and sometimes even different tactics to achieve the same goal (for de-risking purposes, for example).
What focus really means in startup life
At the high level, focus is executing exactly what we planned to execute and nothing else. Being laser focused means execute the plan and nothing but the plan.
Easier said than done…
The key is this: focus does not mean doing only one thing. It means executing many things in parallel as long as they are part of the agreed plan, the resources are allocated, the risks are managed, and the controls are in place.
What it takes to execute successfully
First, it takes a plan. A real plan.
Decide precisely what you will execute within a specific period. Spell out outcomes, milestones, and acceptance criteria.
Plan the needed resources (people, budget, tooling, vendor lead times, cross team dependencies).
Surface assumptions and estimate risks in the plan. We always make assumptions, write them down and assign owners.
Prepare mitigation plans for the top risks, and fallback (contingency) plans in case something critical goes sideways.
This is the foundation, but it is not everything.
Monitoring and control: guardrails against defocus
To execute the plan, program managers must put in place monitoring and control mechanisms that alert early when something drifts out of focus. Once you have decided exactly what you will do, it becomes much easier to spot work that is out of focus. Putting monitoring and controls in place helps the team re focus in time.
Practical mechanisms:
Plan vs. actual dashboards that track scope, schedule, burn, and outcomes.
Out of plan work capture: a simple tag or label so any task started outside the plan is visible and must be explicitly approved.
Change control lite: small template to justify additions, swaps, or deferrals. Time boxed experiments with clear kill or keep criteria.
Risk radar: a living list of top assumptions with status, tests, and triggers for mitigation.
Build a focus culture
When focus becomes critical (and yes, there are times when higher focus is essential), a focus culture multiplies execution. In organizations that excel at focus, monitoring and controls cascade down to every employee. People become de facto focus guards: they tell peers and colleagues when something looks out of focus, they criticize their managers constructively, and they push back on tasks that feel misaligned. They will not always be right, but when you see this behavior you know you have built a culture that embraces focus.
Cultural enablers:
Psychological safety to challenge work that seems off plan.
Rituals (weekly plan reviews, demo days) where “what changed and why” is a standing topic.
Public alignment artifacts (single source of truth for the plan, clear ownership map).
Alignment is non negotiable
It is impossible to stay in focus without alignment on goals and on the plan. Alignment requires constant investment in synchronization. There are many techniques, and each manager can choose a preferred one as long as everybody is aligned.
Examples that work:
Goal systems (OKRs, North Star metrics, driver trees) or lightweight equivalents.
Regular cross team syncs with decision logs.
One page plan summaries per workstream, updated weekly.
The hardest part: deciding what not to do
The last, but critical, element of focused and successful execution is deciding what to do, which in reality means choosing what not to do. You must be harsh here: make tough decisions and draw the line between what is in and what is out.
A simple, robust pattern divides work into three categories:
Out: explicitly not doing.
In (above the line): must do, fully resourced, committed.
Maybe (below the line): plausible bets that do not displace the plan.
Operate it rigorously:
Plan to execute everything above the line.
Push back hard on everything not on the list.
Test, from time to time, the execution of the things above the line (operational audits to ensure you are truly delivering what you committed). In addition, run time boxed probes on select “below the line” items to reduce uncertainty without derailing the plan.
This approach avoids rigidity. It yields an organization that is less risky, more diversified, and more agile, without sacrificing focus.
Closing
Focus in startups is not austerity or tunnel vision. It is the discipline to execute exactly what you planned and nothing else while keeping just enough optionality to de risk the future. Get the plan right, instrument it, build the culture, and hold the line. That is how focus turns into compounding execution.
