Most companies — and most leaders — want more.
More clients. More revenue. More profit.
And there’s an almost automatic assumption that to get more… you have to do more.
The thinking goes like this: If you want more output (more clients, more sales, more growth), then you need more input — more meetings, more projects, more emails, more priorities, more ideas.
It sounds logical… but research shows it’s not true.
Chris Zook, a partner at a major consulting firm, studied companies that had achieved significant growth over a decade. His finding? 80% of them had one thing in common — a single, clear focus on their core business.
In other words… they didn’t diversify wildly. They didn’t add more and more. They honed in on what mattered most.
In this video, I want to share three simple tips to achieve much more — without necessarily doing more.
I see it all the time. Leaders assume that because they want more, they must add more to their plate.
But piling on more meetings, more priorities, and more “urgent” ideas rarely creates more results.
Instead, it scatters focus, burns energy, and slows progress.
If you truly want more output, the key is not to do more — it’s to focus more.
Three Ways to Achieve More by Doing Less
Clarity
Each quarter, choose two to three priorities.
Accept that you can’t do everything — and don’t try. Concentrate on what will truly move the needle.
Prioritise
Every week, review your chosen priorities and ask:
“What do I need to do this week to make progress?”
Identify the key tasks — the ones that matter most — and commit to doing those above all else.
Protect
Each day, protect time and energy for those critical tasks.
That means saying “no” to low-value requests, deflecting distractions, and resisting the urge to constantly add more to your to-do list.
This idea is simple to understand — but challenging to put into practice.
If you commit to it, you’ll move from being endlessly busy to being sharply focused…
and from simply “doing more” to actually achieving more.
So, my question to you is: Have you taken the time to clarify your top two or three priorities for the quarter? Do you turn those priorities into concrete weekly tasks? And do you protect time each day to make sure they happen?
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip.
Hope you have a lovely day!
A bientôt,
Cyril
