Did you ever use a magnifying glass to burn a leaf? Once you get the light focused properly, it’s amazing how quickly the leaf burns. It’s almost instantaneous. Even more amazing is that nothing really happens while you are fiddling with the lens. It’s not until you get the focus just right that anything happens.

Teams are the same way. With the right focus, a team of ten can outperform a team of twenty. Too often, people in leadership positions respond to performance issues by trying to create more capacity. They hire more people or train their current people. However, capacity, without focus is wasted energy.

Think back to the leaf. The same amount of sunlight hits the ground all day yet nothing burns. All that’s changed is that you’ve focused it.