THE ONE THING OVERVIEW :
On June 7, 1991, the earth moved
for 112 minutes. Not really, but it
felt that way.
I was watching the hit
comedyCity Slickers, and the
audience’s laughter rattled and
rocked the theater. Considered one of the funniest movies of all
time, it also sprinkled in unexpected doses of wisdom and insight.
In one memorable scene, Curly, the gritty cowboy played by the
late Jack Palance, and city slicker Mitch, played by Billy Crystal,
leave the group to search for stray cattle. Although they had
clashed for most of the movie, riding along together they finally
connect over a conversation about life. Suddenly Curly reins his
horse to a stop and turns in the saddle to face Mitch.
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No. What?
Curly: This. [He holds up one finger.]
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and
everything else doesn’t mean sh*t.www.drzaban.com
Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the “one thing”?
Curly: That’s what you’ve got to figure out.
Out of the mouth of a fictional character to our ears comes the
secret of success. Whether the writers knew it or unwittingly
stumbled on it, what they wrote was the absolute truth. The ONE
Thing is the best approach to getting what you want.
I didn’t really get this until much later. I’d experienced
success in the past, but it wasn’t until I hit a wall that I began to
connect my results with my approach. In less than a decade we’d
built a successful company with national and international
ambitions, but all of a sudden things weren’t working out. For all
the dedication and hard work, my life was in turmoil and it felt as
if everything was crumbling around me.
I was failing.SOMETHING HAD TO GIVEAt the end of a short rope that looked eerily like a noose, I sought
help and found it in the form of a coach. I walked him through my
situation and talked through the challenges I faced, both personal
and professional. We revisited my goals and the trajectory I wanted
for my life, and with a full grasp of the issues, he set out in search
of answers. His research was thorough. When we got back
together, he had my organizational chart—essentially a birds-eyewww.drzaban.com
view of the entire company—up on the wall.
Our discussion started with a simple question: “Do you know
what you need to do to turn things around?” I hadn’t a clue.
He said there was only one thing I needed to do. He had
identified 14 positions that needed new faces, and he believed that
with the right individuals in those key spots, the company, my job,
and my life would see a radical change for the better. I was
shocked and let him know I thought it would take a lot more than
that.
He said, “No. Jesus needed 12, but you’ll need 14.”
It was a transformational moment. I had never considered
how so few could change so much. What became obvious is that,
as focused as I thought I was, I wasn’t focused enough. Finding 14
people was clearly the most important thing I could do. So, based
on this meeting, I made a huge decision. I fired myself.
I stepped down as CEO and made finding those 14 people my
singular focus.
This time the earth really did move. Within three years, we
began a period of sustained growth that averaged 40 percent year-over-year for almost a decade. We grew from a regional player to
an international contender. Extraordinary success showed up, and
we never looked back.
As success begat success, something else happened along thewww.drzaban.com
way. The language of the ONE Thing emerged.
Having found the 14, I began working with our top people
individually to build their careers and businesses. Out of habit, I
would end our coaching calls with a recap of the handful of things
they were agreeing to accomplish before our next session.
Unfortunately, many would get most of them done, but not
necessarily what mattered most. Results suffered. Frustration
followed. So, in an effort to help them succeed, I started
shortening my list: If you can do just three things this week. ... If
you can do just two things this week. ... Finally, out of desperation,
I went as small as I could possibly go and asked: “What’s the ONE
Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else
would be easier or unnecessary?”And the most awesome thing
happened.
Results went through the roof.
After these experiences, I looked back at my successes and
failures and discovered an interesting pattern. Where I’d had huge
success, I had narrowed my concentration to one thing, and where
my success varied, my focus had too.
And the light came on.GOING SMALLIf everyone has the same number of hours in a day, why do some
people seem to get so much more done than others? How do theywww.drzaban.com
do more, achieve more, earn more, have more? If time is the
currency of achievement, then why are some able to cash in their
allotment for more chips than others? The answer is they make
getting to the heart of things the heart of their approach. They go
small.
When you want the absolute best chance to succeed at
anything you want, your approach should always be the same. Go
small.
“Going small” is ignoring all the things you could do and
doing what you should do. It’s recognizing that not all things
matter equally and finding the things that matter most. It’s a tighter
way to connect what you do with what you want. It’s realizing that
extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you
can make your focus.
The way to get the most out of your work and your life is to
go as small as possible. Most people think just the opposite. They
think big success is time-consuming and complicated. As a result,
their calendars and to-do lists become overloaded and
overwhelming. Success starts to feel out of reach, so they settle for
less. Unaware that big success comes when we do a few things
well, they get lost trying to do too much and in the end accomplish
too little. Over time they lower their expectations, abandon their
dreams, and allow their life to get small. This is the wrong thing towww.drzaban.com
make small.
You have only so much time and energy, so when you spread
yourself out, you end up spread thin. You want your achievements
to add up, but that actually takes subtraction, not addition. You
need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing
more things with side effects. The problem with trying to do too
much is that even if it works, adding more to your work and your
life without cutting anything brings a lot of bad with it: missed
deadlines, disappointing results, high stress, long hours, lost sleep,
poor diet, no exercise, and missed moments with family and
friends— all in the name of going after something that is easier to
get than you might imagine.
Going small is a simple approach to extraordinary results, and
it works. It works all the time, anywhere and on anything. Why?
Because it has only one purpose—to ultimately get you to the
point.
When you go as small as possible, you’ll be staring at one
thing. And that’s the point.
for 112 minutes. Not really, but it
felt that way.
I was watching the hit
comedyCity Slickers, and the
audience’s laughter rattled and
rocked the theater. Considered one of the funniest movies of all
time, it also sprinkled in unexpected doses of wisdom and insight.
In one memorable scene, Curly, the gritty cowboy played by the
late Jack Palance, and city slicker Mitch, played by Billy Crystal,
leave the group to search for stray cattle. Although they had
clashed for most of the movie, riding along together they finally
connect over a conversation about life. Suddenly Curly reins his
horse to a stop and turns in the saddle to face Mitch.
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No. What?
Curly: This. [He holds up one finger.]
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and
everything else doesn’t mean sh*t.www.drzaban.com
Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the “one thing”?
Curly: That’s what you’ve got to figure out.
Out of the mouth of a fictional character to our ears comes the
secret of success. Whether the writers knew it or unwittingly
stumbled on it, what they wrote was the absolute truth. The ONE
Thing is the best approach to getting what you want.
I didn’t really get this until much later. I’d experienced
success in the past, but it wasn’t until I hit a wall that I began to
connect my results with my approach. In less than a decade we’d
built a successful company with national and international
ambitions, but all of a sudden things weren’t working out. For all
the dedication and hard work, my life was in turmoil and it felt as
if everything was crumbling around me.
I was failing.SOMETHING HAD TO GIVEAt the end of a short rope that looked eerily like a noose, I sought
help and found it in the form of a coach. I walked him through my
situation and talked through the challenges I faced, both personal
and professional. We revisited my goals and the trajectory I wanted
for my life, and with a full grasp of the issues, he set out in search
of answers. His research was thorough. When we got back
together, he had my organizational chart—essentially a birds-eyewww.drzaban.com
view of the entire company—up on the wall.
Our discussion started with a simple question: “Do you know
what you need to do to turn things around?” I hadn’t a clue.
He said there was only one thing I needed to do. He had
identified 14 positions that needed new faces, and he believed that
with the right individuals in those key spots, the company, my job,
and my life would see a radical change for the better. I was
shocked and let him know I thought it would take a lot more than
that.
He said, “No. Jesus needed 12, but you’ll need 14.”
It was a transformational moment. I had never considered
how so few could change so much. What became obvious is that,
as focused as I thought I was, I wasn’t focused enough. Finding 14
people was clearly the most important thing I could do. So, based
on this meeting, I made a huge decision. I fired myself.
I stepped down as CEO and made finding those 14 people my
singular focus.
This time the earth really did move. Within three years, we
began a period of sustained growth that averaged 40 percent year-over-year for almost a decade. We grew from a regional player to
an international contender. Extraordinary success showed up, and
we never looked back.
As success begat success, something else happened along thewww.drzaban.com
way. The language of the ONE Thing emerged.
Having found the 14, I began working with our top people
individually to build their careers and businesses. Out of habit, I
would end our coaching calls with a recap of the handful of things
they were agreeing to accomplish before our next session.
Unfortunately, many would get most of them done, but not
necessarily what mattered most. Results suffered. Frustration
followed. So, in an effort to help them succeed, I started
shortening my list: If you can do just three things this week. ... If
you can do just two things this week. ... Finally, out of desperation,
I went as small as I could possibly go and asked: “What’s the ONE
Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else
would be easier or unnecessary?”And the most awesome thing
happened.
Results went through the roof.
After these experiences, I looked back at my successes and
failures and discovered an interesting pattern. Where I’d had huge
success, I had narrowed my concentration to one thing, and where
my success varied, my focus had too.
And the light came on.GOING SMALLIf everyone has the same number of hours in a day, why do some
people seem to get so much more done than others? How do theywww.drzaban.com
do more, achieve more, earn more, have more? If time is the
currency of achievement, then why are some able to cash in their
allotment for more chips than others? The answer is they make
getting to the heart of things the heart of their approach. They go
small.
When you want the absolute best chance to succeed at
anything you want, your approach should always be the same. Go
small.
“Going small” is ignoring all the things you could do and
doing what you should do. It’s recognizing that not all things
matter equally and finding the things that matter most. It’s a tighter
way to connect what you do with what you want. It’s realizing that
extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you
can make your focus.
The way to get the most out of your work and your life is to
go as small as possible. Most people think just the opposite. They
think big success is time-consuming and complicated. As a result,
their calendars and to-do lists become overloaded and
overwhelming. Success starts to feel out of reach, so they settle for
less. Unaware that big success comes when we do a few things
well, they get lost trying to do too much and in the end accomplish
too little. Over time they lower their expectations, abandon their
dreams, and allow their life to get small. This is the wrong thing towww.drzaban.com
make small.
You have only so much time and energy, so when you spread
yourself out, you end up spread thin. You want your achievements
to add up, but that actually takes subtraction, not addition. You
need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing
more things with side effects. The problem with trying to do too
much is that even if it works, adding more to your work and your
life without cutting anything brings a lot of bad with it: missed
deadlines, disappointing results, high stress, long hours, lost sleep,
poor diet, no exercise, and missed moments with family and
friends— all in the name of going after something that is easier to
get than you might imagine.
Going small is a simple approach to extraordinary results, and
it works. It works all the time, anywhere and on anything. Why?
Because it has only one purpose—to ultimately get you to the
point.
When you go as small as possible, you’ll be staring at one
thing. And that’s the point.
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