“If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” – Unknown

Most of us living on this planet in 2026 feel like we’re being bombarded.  We’re supposed to be a hundred different things, buy a hundred different things, address a hundred different issues, all with perfect grace and nonstop success.  It’s overwhelming and exhausting.

Leaders are no different.  Leaders are supposed to deal with people issues, technology, products, customers, vendors, AI, changing markets, generational issues, culture, vision, strategy, and dozens more.  There are so many things to manage that most leaders feel like they don’t do any of it well.  They’re stretched too thin.

There’s no easy solution to all of that.  We can’t just ignore any of those things.  However, we can figure out what’s most important for each of us individually as the leader of our specific organization and then spend our best energy on those things.

The starting point is having a clear picture of where exactly you want your organization to go.  That picture in your mind – and hopefully on paper – drives everything else.  The things that are prominent in that picture are the things that matter most.  Everything else is background noise.

Think about the future of the organization you lead, and your role in that future.  What stands out?  What are the really critical handful of things that will make that future possible?  What are the really serious roadblocks that could prevent that future from happening? 

If you can’t answer those questions, you have some work to do.  If you can, then you know where to spend your time and energy.  And I don’t mean at 3pm after you get done with everything else.  Too many leaders fail to get to the big stuff because they want to get the small stuff out of the way first.  That’s a recipe for a career full of small stuff.

Think about your focus.  Think about what matters most.  Think about what you as a leader need to be spending your critical time and energy on.  And then ruthlessly stick to those things.  Don’t allow people or events to sidetrack you.  Get focused and get to work.