Greed-Fear-Hubris dressed up as STRATEGY that some CEOs just can’t shake easily

Many CEOs nod when we talk about focus. “Of course,” they say, “we’re clear about our market.”

And then I open their strategy deck. Ten customer segments. Fifteen product variations. A sales team spread across every vertical from healthcare to manufacturing — claiming to do everything for everybody, as if they were Amazon with unlimited resources. And then they wonder why they’ve plateaued.

That isn’t focus. And I get it. We’re all grasping at straws, desperate to make it, unable to control the mind’s natural tendency to grab everything within reach.

It’s the oldest trap in business. You know you should narrow. Yet when real money is on the table, the instinct to say “yes” to everyone takes over. The logic feels irresistible: more markets, more customers, more growth.

The Failure of Rational Logic

The deeper issue is that this broad approach is based on a rational model that fails because it ignores mass psychology.

The logic is sound on paper: it’s efficient to serve everyone. But in reality, customers don’t reward efficiency; they chase the shiny thing that feels designed just for them.

Think of the difference between a Supermarket and a highly specialized Boutique. The Supermarket has maximum breadth and efficiency, but you drive past ten of them to find the one Boutique that sells the specialized item you truly desire. Customers are driven by that desire, by an avarice for unique value—and that is an irrational force that breaks all rational strategy.

The broader you go, the weaker you get.

The Physics of Force: How to Concentrate Impact

Think of a fire hose. Uncapped, it sprays water everywhere — lots of volume, no distance. Put on a narrow nozzle, and suddenly the same flow shoots fifty feet farther with enough force to knock a man over.

That’s focus. Same resources, dramatically different impact.

Your company is the hose. Strategy is the nozzle. Without it, you’re just getting everything wet nearby and wondering why the fire’s still burning.

History’s Verdict: The Companies That Won By Being Narrow

History rewards the companies that had the courage to focus:

• Amazon started with books. In hindsight, it looks like genius. At the time, it looked like a limitation.

• Tesla launched with a single sports car. They didn’t build trucks, SUVs, or fleets. They proved EV performance in one narrow space first.

• Zoom, unlike Webex, didn’t try to be a full communication platform. They nailed one thing: video calls that “just worked.”

Smaller business examples prove the same law:

• Basecamp grew by solving project management simply for small teams, while everyone else bloated their software.

• Spanx didn’t launch with a fashion line. One weird product — footless pantyhose — lit the spark.

• GoPro wasn’t for everyone. It was for extreme athletes who needed a rugged camera. That niche turned into a movement.

None of these companies won by being broad. They won by being narrow enough to create force.

The CEO’s Challenge

The real question isn’t “Do I believe in focus?” You already do.

The question is: Where are you pretending to be focused while secretly hedging broad?

Every extra customer segment you add dilutes your message. Every product variation you justify spreads your team thinner. Every vertical you chase without dominance elsewhere is the hose without the nozzle.

The companies that break through aren’t the ones who said “yes” the most. They’re the ones who had the discipline to say “no” until their jet stream was strong enough to break walls.

Focus feels unnatural. It feels wrong to turn people away when you could serve them. But that’s the paradox of leadership.

The narrower the pipe, the farther the water flows.

If you want an outsized impact, don’t go broad. Embrace the paradox:
Go Narrow. Then Go Big.