Is Your Focus Drawn Too Narrowly?

One of the things we’ve been working on in Jeff Garrison’s Sales Habitudes class is focusing our message/brand. Although I was the stereotypical “goody two-shoes” student in high school (it’s true – I won the Teacher’s Pet award my senior year), I sense that I occasionally frustrate Mr. Garrison! All this sales stuff is new to me. After all, my undergrad is in elementary education (you don’t have to “market” to students – they are required to attend school), and my advanced degree is law (in Iowa, advertising is severely restricted, so sales/marketing is not something they teach in law school). I’ve also struggled because I spent two years listening to what other people thought I should do, which does not result in clarity or success.

But this post is not about “finding yourself.” It’s about how narrowly you should draw your focus when the issues are so interconnected that you cannot easily pull them apart and focus on only one.

I described my business to Jeff as a (modified) three-legged stool (see below). The “seat,” or overall goal of my business is to create strong women. The three legs to that stool are Legal, Work and Financial. Legal can include family law and/or employment law (domestic violence, unfortunately, can spill over into both areas). Work includes leadership issues, as well as reentry/retention concerns. And Financial includes both increasing literacy and creating and implementing a plan.









I told Jeff that because all three of these areas (legal, work and financial) were highly interrelated, it was difficult to narrowly focus on only one area and be effective. Keep in mind, I’m not looking to represent clients in legal matters; instead, I want to educate women in each of these areas so that they can become strong and self-sufficient. I don’t want women to have to rely upon a man to take care of them financially. If they are going through a divorce or a sexual harassment lawsuit, I want them to know what to expect, so they don’t get blind-sided. And if they are trying to work both inside and outside the home, I want them to have strategies to present to their employer that will make them more productive and less stressed in both arenas.

These issues often have a domino effect for women. For example, a woman who has stayed home to raise the children may have a difficult time finding work if she divorces. If she is awarded physical care of the children, finding work that is compatible with being a single mom can be even more difficult. This obviously impacts her financial well-being, especially if she then has trouble collecting child support.

Although it’s true that men can have some of the same issues, both the dynamics and the impact may be very different. Many more women than men stay home to care for children or elderly parents. Men are still paid more than women for comparable work, and men still hold significantly more positions of leadership. Women are overwhelmingly the “victims” of domestic violence. And so it goes.

To Jeff’s credit, once I explained that I needed to “focus” on all three areas, because they were so interconnected, he understood, and worked with me to develop strategies to make that work. He understood that my passion was in helping raise up women – not bring down men. Gender balanced leadership create more successful businesses, all else being equal. Healthy relationships require that both partners contribute positively to the relationship. And helping women develop financial literacy and create a strong financial plan, whether within a business, a relationship or just for herself, is good for everyone.

Sometimes focus needs to be narrowly drawn to be successful. But sometimes drawing it too narrowly can limit your opportunities to truly serve your client.