The Focusing Question
You know the feeling.
You are stuck. Something needs to change. But every option feels important.
So…you do nothing.
That’s the Confidence Gap.
You know what to do. But you hesitate anyway.
There is a way out.
It begins with one simple question.
The Focusing Question
This is the question that frames the work you do…it captures the frustration that you solve.
It draws a contrast between where you are and where you want to be. This question helps you frame every action as helping you solve your challenge or not.
Binary.
Yes or no.
I learned this from Liam Curley. Liam helps thinkers identify their one key idea.
He calls it “The Focusing Question.”
I call it essential.
If you don’t know where you are going…any road will get you there.
Mine is simple:
“Why do organizations drift…and how do you stop it and fix it before it’s too late?”
I’ve named the challenge. Offered the solution. And added a sense of urgency.
This guides everything I write. Every product I create. Every service I offer.
It guides everything. ides everything.
Close the Confidence Gap
The Confidence Gap happens when you know what to do but hesitate.
Why do you hesitate?
Because you never made a real choice.
You see ten priorities. All look important. So…you freeze.
The focusing question forces you to choose. It helps you fight off side quests. It tells you what matters, but, more importantly, what doesn’t.
Once you make a choice, you can focus. Once you focus, the correct action becomes clear.
That’s CFA in action.
Build Your Own
Let’s try a simple exercise:
1. What is the frustration you are dealing with or that you solve?
2. Turn it into a question? One that focuses you on that one big frustration. For me, that’s drift. For you?
3. Test it.
Real Choice
The Confidence Gap is real. We have all felt it.
A focusing question can close it.
It forces you to choose.
Once you’ve chosen, you can focus.
Once you focus, you can act.
That’s CFA. That’s the work.
The frameworks exist. The tools exist.
My challenge to you is: what in the world is going on and what are you going to do about it?