I remember it as if it were yesterday. When I first went independent, I wanted to do everything.
I had broad interests, I was hungry and I wanted to pursue my own vision. Every exciting project, every request, every opportunity that came my way, I wanted to take on.
I wanted to keep every door open so I wouldn’t miss out.
In practice, that meant lots of topics, lots of ideas, lots of building sites,
but no clear focus.
And with that, no clear sense of my real why.
At some point I realised that this wasn’t how to build a company that
truly fulfils me. Only a full diary.
The turning point came when I saw my focus clearly:
a small, strong executive search boutique.
Four or five partners who understand each other, share similar values and, of course,
work with top candidates and exciting clients.
Plus lean processes that make us fast, precise and efficient.
A company with substance that I can hand over in good shape one day.
From then on, focus became my guiding principle. I picture a road:
my strategic corridor.
My focus topics lie within that corridor.
When a client comes to me with a project, I ask myself:
does this fit the corridor?
If not, I only check one thing:
does it move my company forward strategically?
Or is it just a distraction?
The same goes for my day-to-day work.
For almost everything I do, I ask myself:
how close is what I’m doing right now to revenue?
I’m closest to revenue when I’m presenting candidates.
Plenty of other things feel important but aren’t.
IT topics, “one more concept”, “testing another tool”.
They can be delegated or done later.
Passion only lasts if the core is right: a focus on what creates
value, for clients and for your own company.
Today I could also say: I’ll let my network do the work, take what comes, and save myself the investment in AI, consulting and growth.
Less stress, enough money, more free time. But that isn’t me.
What I’ve learned as a founder and entrepreneur:
focus isn’t sacrifice. Focus protects your passion.
How do you handle focus as an entrepreneur?
