The Power Law of Focus
Imagine two companies starting on the same day with the same amount of funding. Remember Inc decides to focus entirely on making the best medium widgets in the world. Forget Inc, on the other hand, sees multiple market opportunities and choose to make widgets, gadgets, and gizmos, in small, medium and large. Fast forward to five years later, and Remember Inc dominates the market for medium widgets, while Forget Inc struggles to gain traction in any market.
This story illustrates a fundamental principle in business - it follows a power law. The rewards for being the best at something are exponentially greater than being ok at many things. Even being just 10% better over time compounds into outpacing the competition dramatically. A few more customers lead to a little bit more money that can be invested into a few more ads leading to even more customers and so on.
If you've been in business for a couple of years, you’ve probably heard this over and over again in the context of product strategy. But here's what's interesting - these same companies who get it right in terms of strategy can completely miss this principle when it comes to their people. The very same founder who would never dilute their product focus regularly dilutes their people's focus.
Think about a typical day for many knowledge workers. They jump between three different projects, attend five meetings on different topics, and try to keep up with messages in various Slack channels. Each switch comes with a cost. Research shows it can take anywhere from 15-45 minutes to fully regain focus after an interruption. That means in an 8-hour workday with just 5 interruptions, we lose hours just getting back into focus.
But the damage goes deeper than lost time. A developer who spends 80% of their time deeply focused on one domain will progress exponentially faster than one who splits attention across three areas. Not just because they have more hours - but because those focused hours build on each other. Each insight creates a foundation for the next breakthrough.
This relates directly to what psychologist Anders Ericsson discovered in his research on expertise. The path to mastery isn't just about putting in 10,000 hours. It's about 10,000 hours of focused, deliberate practice. When we force people to constantly switch between different types of work, we're not just making them less efficient. We're actively preventing them from reaching the state where they can achieve mastery!
Mastery is not just about getting faster at something. An engineer who gets to focus deeply on their craft doesn't just become incrementally better. They develop insights that fundamentally change how they approach problems. A product manager who deeply understands one domain sees patterns and opportunities that others miss entirely.
The most successful companies understand this. Google, for example, structures its engineering teams with a clear distinction between management and technical tracks. An engineer can become a Senior Staff Engineer, making as much or more than their manager, while staying deep in their technical expertise. At Spotify, some teams have incredibly narrow focus areas - like optimizing app performance for low-end devices. This laser focus lets them solve problems that broader teams might miss entirely.
A word of caution though. Before a company has meaningful revenue, it doesn't have this luxury. Early-stage startups need generalists who can wear many hats. A developer might need to handle customer support in the morning and sales calls in the afternoon. This works when you're small - in fact, it's essential for survival.
The trap lies at the tipping point, usually around 20 people. This is where many companies stumble. The very things that made them successful - everyone doing everything, quick context switching, generalist roles - start to hold them back. Teams begin to feel scattered, quality suffers, and people burn out.
Making this transition isn't easy. It requires new processes, clear role definitions, and often tough conversations about focus areas. But just like with products, power laws apply to people too. The gap between good and great grows exponentially over time.
So once you're past that tipping point, the question isn't whether you can afford to let people specialize. The question is whether you can afford not to.
