Focus Like a Laser Beam: 10 Ways to Do What Matters Most (Hardcover)

~ Lisa L. Haneberg (Author), Keith Ferrazzi (Foreword) "Lasers work by virtue of an amazing phenomenon known as stimulated emission of photons, which are packets of energy that behave as both waves and..." (more)
Key Phrases: tuned dialogue, internal blog, improv techniques, Key Point, Marshall Goldsmith, Trader Joe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Given today's fast pace of life, we all need Lisa's coaching on setting priorities! Quit saying, 'I can do it all!'  Read this book and say, 'I can do what matters!'  Great coaching for busy people!"
—Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach; author or coeditor of The Leader of the Future, Global Leadership, and Coaching for Leadership

"In this hyperactive world where our work is interrupted once every eleven minutes it’s easy to conclude that as critical as focus is, it is beyond our grasp.  But with this book in hand you can get both the methods and the kick-in-the-pants you need to overcome easy excuses and make focus a competitive advantage for you and your team."
—Laurence Haughton, author, It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small . . . It’s the FAST That Eat the Slow and It’s Not What You Say . . . It’s What You Do

"Lisa Haneberg’s thoughtful book, Focus Like A Laser Beam, is important reading for managers and others looking to create value in their organization.  In a time when too many priorities, messages, and issues make decision making difficult to do, this book helps the reader effectively sort through these items by focusing on what’s important in improving their organization."
—Ken Thrasher, CEO, Compli, and retired CEO and president, Fred Meyer Stores

Product Description

In Focus Like a Laser Beam, acclaimed management consultant and business blogger Lisa Haneberg offers business leaders a new way to direct their focus that, like a laser beam, is direct, fast, and on track. The book offers leaders ways to improve energy and engagement in the workplace and redirect how people communicate at work. Focus Like a Laser Beam is filled with useful suggestions for dealing with distractions and diversions and outlines the ten practices that will help leaders focus on what’s most important.

• Know and feel the power of laser focus
• Get connected with your employees
• Have fun and be fun
• Relax to energize
• Turn meetings into focus sessions
• Invite a challenge
• Huddle
• Stop multitasking and put your focus where it belongs
• Do one great thing
• Let go of outdated goals, projects, and tasks

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (June 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787984817
• ISBN-13: 978-0787984816
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #311,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, September 15, 2006

By	Jay Dreyer (Plymouth, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was expecting something different from this book - maybe something more along the Getting Things Done path than what this ended up being. It is definitely a short read - the highlights are outlined in the book description above.

I'd say this is definitely geared more towards management than worker bee's, but there are still a few things anyone can use. Number one being, just say "no" to meetings that don't provide any value. Other than that (which I already try to practice), I just didn't get much out of this book. I'm a little surprised by all of the glowing reviews I read here. Maybe I missed something.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book turned my head around, not to mention my department, July 25, 2006

By	Marketing Director "MJWW" (Seattle WA USA) - See all my reviews

Nine months ago I was hired to help turnaround a once successful business. From day one I realized that this was a company without focus. It's one thing to define a problem, another to find a solution. Haneberg's book was a shot in the arm. Just one concept -- "Stop Multitasking" -- would have been a major breakthrough for my team. And, personally, the idea of doing "One Great Thing" has completely revitalized my approach to a huge job. This book immediately rose to the rank of three or four "must read" titles in my business library. In the couple of months since I first read it (and I've re-read it a couple of times) our department has moved far away from the reactive mode that drove decisions -- we're nailing deadlines, we're closing more sales, we're thinking more strategically across the board. In a business and social environment that throws more at us day-by-day, hour-by-hour, this book is even more important than it would have been just a few years ago. We're all doing more with less -- and this is a book that has helped me see order amid the chaos of conflicting priorities. If it's true, as Woody Allen says, that 98% of success is showing up, then the other 2% is knowing how to keep your eye on the ball once you get there. This is the manual for getting your business -- and your life -- where you want it to be.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity, Vision, Action, and Results, July 25, 2006

By	Scott Ahlsmith "Author, Idiot's Guide to the ... (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want goal-setting glitz and glamour, watch an infomercial. If you want a commonsense management refresher course that reorders your thoughts and shows you a step-by-step path leading to breakthrough successes, read, "Focus Like a Laser Beam."

This is one of those books that sneaks-up on you. You read a section, pause, nod knowingly, and keep reading. Then, throughout the following days and weeks the book's messages keep bubbling to the surface as your context and focus changes.

This book is all about establishing clear visions and focused actions that produce results. Of the book's "10 Ways to Do What Matters Most," my favorite is, "Stop Multitasking, Start Chunking." I always prided myself on my ability to multitask and keep dozens of projects moving at the same time.

After reflecting on this section of the book, I stopped and focused on each project. I realized I had created a great deal of commotion, with very little forward movement.

By carving out "chunks" of time to focus and respond to each project, I immediately experienced a series of small breakthrough accomplishments.

Sure, in hindsight it was commonsense, but without having read "Focus" and learning to dedicate chunks of time to important tasks, I would probably never finished this review.