Focus, Foes, and the Final Goal

A deleted scene from Aliens taught me about focus.

“Alright sweethearts, stop grinning and start listening. Another bug hunt. Anything that’s not right, you radio it in. Got it?”, Sergeant Apone blasted whilst chewing his cigar.

“Hoo-rah!”, chanted the Colonial Marines.

As shoulder-mounted lights flicked on, the marines begun exploring the dimly-lit corridors. Wailing klaxons echoed in the distance.

“Hey Sarge, over here”, called Hudson.

“What is it?” barked Apone.

Lights converged on a wall tile. “A Weyland Yutani G-55 tile. These were made in limited quantities. What’re the chances we’d find some?”

“Hudson, do I look like I care about some dang tile?”

“Uh, no, sir. Could you clarify what you meant by ‘anything that’s not right’, sir?” responded Hudson.

“We’re on a dang bug hunt, so anything that looks unusual”, barked Apone.

“Top, over here”, called Drake.

“This better be good, Private. What’re you seeing?”

“That vending machine, sir”, said Drake, pointing with his smart gun barrel.

“This ain’t a dang picnic, Drake. Give me one dang reason why I should care about a vending machine.”

“It’s unusual, sir - it’s broken”, responded Drake.

Apone threw his cigar to the ground. Corporal Hicks quickly intervened: “Sarge, if we define ‘right’, then the squad may better understand what ‘wrong’ looks like.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”, retorted Apone.

“Obviously not, sir.”

Apone and Hicks drew shapes in the dust on the wall with their fingers. 30 minutes later, they admired their work.

Apone read their diagram, “So in order to maximise the number of saved colonists, we must restore power and eliminate bugs. In order to restore power, we must reactivate the atmospheric processors and prevent accidental shutoff. And, in order to eliminate the bugs, we must find and remove the bugs, and their nest. That sound good, Hicks?”

“So if that’s what right looks like, then ‘wrong’ is the opposite: cut power, sources of accidental shutoff, bugs, and bug nests”, considered Hicks.

“Alright, marines. You see any of that, you radio it in. Got it?”, chanted Apone. He spun to face the squad.

“Sarge, we saw all of that,” croaked Drake as he lay on the ground, “especially the bugs.”

All organisations have many problems, meaning focus is hard. Thankfully, the only problems that matter are those between where the organisation is, and where the organisation wants to be - its goal.

The takeaway? Don’t lose your squad to G-55 wall tile or broken vending machine distractions. Agree the goal, and then only the obstacles to getting there matter.

Image credit: borg.com