What does it mean to be single-minded?  How does single-mindedness look?  Single-mindedness is the relentless pursuit of a goal, objective or end state.  To become single-minded, the leader must make a decision to focus on only one thing, to the exclusion of everything else – one idea, one project, one goal, one end state.  Everything else is secondary to the pursuit of this goal or objective.

Why is single-mindedness important?  Life throws so many distractions at you; some good and some bad.  These distractions either help you stay on track or push you off track.  Being single-minded helps you to stay on track and on task.  Infamous bank robber, Willie Sutton stated that, “Success in any endeavor requires single-minded attention to detail and total concentration.”  A leader must be totally focused on where he wants to go and he must do everything in his power to get there.  How does a leader keep himself and his people on track? 

The leader must stay focused on the goal or end state.  He must not allow his people to veer off into secondary activities that drain energy, waste valuable time, and produce no tangible results.  These distractions do not move you any closer to fulfilling your mission, goal, or end state.  A leader ensures that extraneous activities do not get his people sidetracked and off-task.  A leader communicates his single-mindedness, by what he does, what he says and with the questions that he asks.

The key to being single-minded is to stay relentlessly focused on your goals and objectives until you know exactly what it is you want to accomplish.  An additional benefit of this focused attention is that you gain a deeper understanding of how to accomplish your end state as well. 

When you concentrate on any specific topic, your attention causes that topic to expand and grow in your mind. As the topic expands in your mind, you are prompted to dig deeper.  The deeper you dig, the more you will be exposed to additional insights, ideas, and knowledge that relate directly to your goals and objectives.  The more you are exposed...the more you want to know and understand.  As you learn more, you start to make connections and build upon the knowledge that you already possess.  Eventually, you will have the makings of a plan or concept that supports the undertaking of your goal or objective.
How does single-mindedness help you?

• Single-mindedness helps you and your people stay focused on the task at hand;
• Single-mindedness inspires increased productivity by capitalizing on small wins early in the process;
• Single-mindedness removes distractions from your environment;
• Single-mindedness provides its on self-reinforcing motivation based upon the results you achieve;
• Single-mindedness allows you to accomplish more in less time.