- Shiny object syndrome means you start a lot of things and finish almost nothing.
- One question filters most of it: which goal does this move us meaningfully toward?
- Good ideas that don’t fit yet get banked, not lost.
- Go one inch wide and ten feet deep.
Your business doesn’t need more ideas. It needs a way to make sure bad ideas don’t get in.
Most people are playing shiny object syndrome. Something pops up. You read about something online and think, yeah, I should do that. Somebody brings it to the team, it gets thrown into the mix, and now you are working on something you never should have started. Whatever the most important thing is today, that’s the mole that pops up and you whack it.
I know, because I am a recovering shiny object syndrome CEO.
What it costs you
Shiny object syndrome means you are going to start a lot of things and finish almost nothing. You end up with a cornucopia of things you have started, when what you really need to do is focus on the boring part. Focus on finishing.
You are going one inch deep and ten feet wide. You are doing a bunch of things average. You need to go one inch wide and ten feet deep.
And if you are constantly throwing grenades into your business, everyone around you is going to be fatigued. They are tired because you are a ready-fire-aim kind of leader.
Your business doesn’t need more ideas. It needs a way to make sure bad ideas don’t get in.
The filter
So how do you filter bad ideas while keeping people moving in the direction you want them to go? You set three goals, for growth, finance and operations. Then you ask people to work on something every month that moves you meaningfully toward those goals.
When they submit an idea, they have to pitch it. Which goal are we moving toward with this? How does it move us meaningfully toward that goal? What is the objective outcome? What are we getting out of this when it’s done?
Even with a good planning process, bad ideas get in when the only filter is a conversation. So every pitch in Unbreakable OS goes through an AI gatekeeper first. It pushes back: this is not objective enough, I need more data, it’s not specific, it’s not meaningfully moving you toward your goal. It is the shot in the arm for shiny object syndrome.
- ✓Ties to a big goal: Raise gross margin
- ✓Says what will be done by month end
- ✓You can tell at month end whether it worked
- ✓Gives a real reason it is needed
Bank it or delete it
In the monthly decision meeting every pitch gets one of three answers. Approved, and it goes into the next cycle. Deleted, because it’s a shiny object. Or banked: it’s a good idea, but not for next month.
You don’t work on anything that doesn’t move you meaningfully toward your Big Three. That doesn’t mean it’s all you do. It means that every month you are at least doing something that drives you toward those goals.
Simplicity is leverage
This is why business models like In-N-Out work really well. Burgers, fries and shakes. When you are only focused on the one thing you sell, you make it the best it can be. How do I service it? How do I market it? You are not distracted.
If you find yourself constantly distracted, it’s probably a sign that either you haven’t spent enough time on this, or you’ve wrung it out for as much as you can and you need to make another shift. Either way, take it from a recovering shiny object syndrome sufferer. Focus on what you have in front of you and do it excellently.
