Focus on Change
Not Results
The counterintuitive truth that separates people who grow from people who grind in place.
“If you focus on results, you will never change. But if you focus on change, the results will always be good.”— Microwave Man
This flips everything we’ve been taught. We’re conditioned to chase outcomes—hit the number, get the promotion, close the deal. But that obsession with results is exactly what keeps us stuck.
The Trap
Results-focused people live in a constant state of anxiety. They’re always measuring, always comparing, always asking “are we there yet?” Every dip in metrics triggers panic. Every missed target feels like failure.
Worse: they stop taking risks. Innovation requires failure. But failure hurts your results. So the rational move becomes: play it safe, hit your numbers, go home. Repeat until retirement.
The Core Problem
Results are lagging indicators. By the time you see them, the work that created them happened weeks or months ago. Obsessing over results is like driving while staring at the rearview mirror.
Two Mindsets
Results Obsession
- Panic when metrics dip
- Celebrate wins, spiral on losses
- Short-term thinking dominates
- Blame when numbers miss
- Avoid risks that might fail
- Trapped in reactive mode
Change Focus
- Steady progress through iteration
- Learn from both wins and losses
- Long-term capability building
- Experiment when things miss
- Take calculated risks constantly
- Proactive and antifragile
People obsessed with results are trapped on an emotional rollercoaster. People obsessed with change build something that compounds. The results become inevitable.
Why This Works
When you focus on change—on getting better every day, on improving your process, on learning from what didn’t work—you build capability. Capability compounds. And compounding capability eventually produces results that are sustainable, not lucky.
The person chasing results might hit their number this quarter. The person focused on change will hit it every quarter, because they’ve built the machine that produces results reliably.
How to Shift
Audit Your Attention
What gets your focus? The dashboard, or the daily habits that move the dashboard? If you’re checking metrics more than improving processes, you’re in the trap.
Change Your Questions
Replace “Did we hit the number?” with “What did we learn?” and “How are we better than last week?” The answers to these questions actually move you forward.
Celebrate Progress, Not Outcomes
Recognize the person who tried something new and learned from it, not just the one who got lucky with timing. Build a culture that rewards evolution.
Trust the Compound Effect
Small improvements stack. 1% better every day is 37x better in a year. Stop looking for the big win and start building the daily habit that makes winning automatic.
Focus on Change
The results will follow.
Stop measuring where you are.
Start measuring how fast you’re improving.
That’s where the real game is played.