What Are You Optimizing For?
Written by: Tony Martignetti, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Prepare yourself for the most over-used question of the business world: “What are you optimizing for?”
In all honesty, that question makes me want to take a nap. “Optimize” has become one of those buzzwords that blend into the background noise of the business world, just like “solutions for success.” Snore.
But there is something important here. Optimize means to make something effective or as useful as possible. And as I am sure you know, wherever our attention goes, our energy follows. So, what we are “optimizing for” or putting our attention on is what enhances the quality of that aspect of our work. But is that the right aspect of our work to put our attention on?
When I was a finance professional, I would spend an enormous amount of time and energy optimizing the best way to deliver financial reports and analytics. However, in retrospect, I can see that it would have made a much bigger difference if I had optimized more in favor of personal connections, leading my team, and my health and well-being.
Today, as my own boss, I’m not so much optimizing for a fancy website or even having a super polished presence. Instead, I am optimizing for the quality of conversations I am having because, for me, that’s the difference that makes the biggest difference.
How about you? What if you got so clear on your priorities that everything you did was “the difference that made the difference” in your health, wealth, and personal happiness?
When you get clear about what you want to optimize, it can give you a direct path up the right mountain. The trick is knowing whether you have chosen the right mountain that matches the life you want to create for yourself.
Tony Martignetti, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Tony Martignetti, is a trusted leadership advisor, experience creator, author, podcast host, and speaker. He brings together over 25 years of business and management experience, formal training, and extreme curiosity to elevate leaders and equip them with the tools to navigate through change and unlock their true potential.
He loves guiding people to find clarity in their lives, so they are energized, fully present, and unstoppable. When leaders unlock their potential and lead from a place of inspired purpose, they impact and inspire everyone around them. He has dedicated himself to helping people live inspired lives.
Before becoming the founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Inspired Purpose Coaching, he was a finance and strategy executive with experience working with some of the world’s leading life sciences companies. Along his journey, he also managed small businesses and ran a financial consulting company.
Tony is the host of The Virtual Campfire podcast and the author of "Climbing the Right Mountain: Navigating the journey to An Inspired Life."
