Want to know why your business isn’t delivering? You’re trying to do too damn much.
Ever seen this one? Leadership announces the next big strategic initiative. Everyone’s bouncing off the walls with excitement. Customer value! Innovation! Digital transformation!
Then some smart-ass asks: “So what are we going to stop doing?”
Tumble weed.
The Comfortable Lie vs. The Uncomfortable Truth
The comfortable lie is that we can do it all. We’ve all been there – spreading ourselves thin across ten initiatives rather than focusing deeply on two. We convince ourselves that being busy equals being productive. We celebrate starting new things more than finishing old ones.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: The key to achieving more is to start less.
Let’s put this in perspective. Our experience with hundreds of organisations shows a clear pattern: The more initiatives running simultaneously, the lower the success rate of each one. It’s not just about resource allocation – it’s about cognitive load, context switching, and the hidden cost of complexity.
The Science Behind the Madness
We’ve watched hundreds of businesses try to juggle more balls than a circus performer. Know what happens? They drop them. All of them.
It’s not rocket science. Your brain can’t handle it. Your teams can’t handle it. Your organisation definitely can’t handle it.
But oh, how we try.
The Brutal Reality
Let’s skin it like this: Your organisation is addicted to starting stuff. New projects are like crack cocaine for corporations. The next big thing. The shiny new toy. The strategic initiative that’ll change everything.
Meanwhile, last quarter’s game-changers are gathering dust faster than your unused gym membership.
Breaking the Habit
The hardest part? Breaking your organisation’s addiction to starting new things. Here’s how to transform your approach:
1. Measure Capacity First
- Map your end-to-end organisational capacity
- Identify your true constraints (hint: it’s rarely where you think)
- Establish clear WIP (Work in Progress) limits
2. Create a “Stop Doing” Framework
- Does it directly support your top 3 strategic priorities?
- Can you measure its impact on customer value?
- Would you start this project today if it wasn’t already running?
3. Implement Visual Flow Control
- No new initiatives without stopping existing ones
- Track completion rate over start rate
- Celebrate finishing more than starting
The New Power Move
The most badass skill in modern business isn’t starting things. It’s stopping them.
Think about it. Any muppet can start a project. But it takes real kahunas to:
• Look at your pet project and put it down
• Tell stakeholders their baby is ugly
• Make space for what actually matters
Get Your Hands Dirty
Here’s what you do:
Today: List every initiative in your business. Can’t do it in 5 minutes? You’ve got too many. End of.
This Week: Hold a “Kill List” workshop. Be brutal. Be honest. Be ready for tears.
This Month: One in, one out. Like a nightclub with standards. Something new comes in… Something old better be leaving.
The Truth Hurts
Your business isn’t delivering because you’re trying to boil the ocean with a match.
Your teams aren’t performing because they’re spread thinner than budget margarine.
Your strategy isn’t working because you’ve got more priorities than a teenager has excuses.
The Fix
Want to be a high-performance business? Start by doing less. Much less.
It’s counter intuitive. It’s uncomfortable.
It works.
When organisations commit to doing less, three patterns consistently emerge:
1. Increased Speed to Market: When teams focus on fewer initiatives, they complete them faster. Not just a little faster – dramatically faster. The reduction in contextswitching alone creates a multiplier effect on productivity
2. Higher Quality Outcomes: With more focused attention and resources, teams deliver better results. They have time to think deeply, test thoroughly, and execute with excellence rather than just barely meeting minimum requirements
3. Greater Strategic Impact: Fewer initiatives mean more resources per initiative.
Instead of making incremental progress on many fronts, organisations can drive transformational change in areas that truly matter.
This isn’t theory. We see it happen every time an organisation has the courage to truly prioritise.