Richard L. Evans Quotes

Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going. Rather than always focusing on what's urgent, learn to focus on what is really important.

A dozen times a day we come to a fork in the road and must decide which way we will go. It is important to get our ultimate objectives clearly in mind so that we do not become distracted at each fork in the road by the irrelevant questions: Which is the easier or more pleasant way? Or, Which way are others going?

You've got to think about big things while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.

The essence of strategy is that you must set limits on what you're trying to accomplish.

Efficiency, which is doing things right, is irrelevant until you work on the right things.

What's important now? - To evaluate the past, focus on the future, and tell you what you have to do in the present

We value the clock for its speed and efficiency. The clock has its place, efficiency has its place, after effectiveness. The symbol of effectiveness is the compass a sense of direction, purpose, vision, perspective, and balance. But the empowerment process itself is not efficient.

We all have many opportunities, but limited capacity to pursue them. Make choices, focus your time and energy, so that you can submit your share of masterpieces to the greater good.

Sometimes the path you're on is not as important as the direction you're heading.

The hard part of running a business is that there are a hundred things that you could be doing, and only five of those actually matter, and only one of them matters more than all of the rest of them combined. So figuring out there is a critical path thing to focus on and ignoring everything else is really important.

You have to establish in your life some sense of prioritizing things, of giving emphasis to the important things and of laying aside the unimportant things that will lead to nothing.

As all entrepreneurs know, you live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.

I think long and hard about what it is I'm actually trying to do, and then I kind of have to narrow my focus into that. If I don't, I'm too all over the place.

In business, staying focused requires that you turn most opportunities down.

You return and again take the proper course, guided by what? - By the picture in mind of the place you are headed for.

I could go insane if I obsessed over every little detail of all of my companies. My management philosophy is to pay attention to the vital few and ignore the trivial many.

We also have to ask if we focusing on the most important priorities.

Prioritization sounds like such a simple thing, but true prioritization starts with a very difficult question to answer, especially at a company with a portfolio approach: If you could only do one thing, what would it be? And you can't rationalize the answer, and you can't attach the one thing to some other things. It's just the one thing.

I want to really start focusing on what I want to accomplish and what it is I want to achieve, but not micromanaging this or that and focusing on the little things.

It's how you prioritize in life.

Direction is more important than speed. You can go fast in the wrong direction.

I make a habit of asking myself, 'Is there purpose to this meeting or conversation? Do I want to build a relationship with this person or company? Is there purpose behind this meeting that aligns with my life and business strategy?' If the answer is 'No,' then I pass every time.

One must say no to some opportunities to open the possibilities of others.

That's a big part of the process: making the right choice from the beginning. Not getting distracted by shiny things.

I used to spend my time more on process than strategy. Now, I prioritize my time around strategy, people, and process.