"what we don’t do matters as much as what we do"

"completing an endurance event has little to do with vision. My vision helped get me started, but it didn’t get me across the finish line. What got me there was focus: being absolutely clear what mattered most, investing my energy disproportionally, following through on a plan, and making the right choices about what to do and saying no to other opportunities. In short, focus enabled me to make the trade-offs I needed to achieve my vision. It always does, in training and in business. The first Rule of Intelligent Restraint, “focus overrules vision,” reminds us that what we don’t do matters as much as what we do.
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While some visions are motivating and many are translated into specific goals, too many become empty exhortations. Broad statements of hope—whether they are called a vision, growth goals, or aspirations—often mean little to employees and fail to drive growth.
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Too often, we create a great vision for growth and then allow ourselves and others to get distracted. We fail to build the capabilities needed to achieve the vision because we don’t know where to focus or don’t have the discipline to follow through on the focus.
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Strategy is only strategic when it allows you to choose what not to do. Focus is only focused if it helps you do less or say no more often."

Trechos retirados de "Pacing for Growth: Why Intelligent Restraint Drives Long-term Success" de Alison Eyring.