Overcoming Shiny Stuff Syndrome

We've all been there, that magnetic pull towards new ideas, tools, and projects that can often leave us, wondering how on earth we're going to get something finished and why our actual goals are no longer close to being completed. In this episode, I want to dissect the three deadly S's of shiny stuff syndrome and offer some actionable strategies to help you overcome them. Now, some years ago, I met an incredible business owner and entrepreneur, a lady called Julia. Julia was a dynamo.

She was known for her innovative ideas, her boundless energy. And one day she shared with me her lady's project. and her lady's project was actually an app that was all about how to help people manage their time better. I get the irony here, right? The concept was really solid, but every single time we met, she had this new feature or a new design or something new that she wanted to talk about. And the app was never close to actually being launched.

There was always something else that she had to include or something else that she had to have a conversation about, or something else that she had to start. And this was all getting in the way of her, Actually making her magic happen of actually completing and launching this, incredible app. Julia was suffering from what I like to call shiny stuff syndrome. Yes. She'd caught a massive dose of the three deadly S's each new tech trend or tool that came her way.

She felt compelled to actually include it in her app and she was lost in a market of endless possibilities. so many of us have been there, right? So what we had to do is we had to put a hard stop on the work that she was doing. We had to start with a real pause to reflect on what her key and core objectives were. She needed to remember her why, the very reason she'd started her own journey.

And we worked on a strategy to help her prioritize and focus, treating every single new idea like window shopping. You look, you appreciate, but you don't immediately buy. You know, it's like when you find yourself on a diet, but you find yourself in a chocolate shop, every single thing looks tempting, but you've got to remember what your ultimate goal is. It may be that you want to fit into some fabulous suit or dress at your best friend's wedding.

You don't necessarily need that extra chocolate. You've got to own the choice. You need a strategy to keep walking, keep on walking past that chocolate shop. So the question is, are you the one? A bit like Julia, are you constantly chasing after the next big thing only to find yourself overwhelmed and not really getting anywhere fast? Maybe your diary is filled up with jumping from one thing to the next.

Maybe you've got loads of things that you've started, but you just can't seem to get anything finished. If that's you, you might also be suffering from these three deadly S's of shiny stuff syndrome. This disease of distraction that plagues so many of us as business owners. Think of it like being a kid in a candy store, but instead of the sweets, you're surrounded with shiny new business strategies. You know, maybe this is you, this is your typical day.

You're, you're scrolling through social media feed. I know that's really hard, isn't it? Not to scroll, but you're scrolling through your social media feed. And then suddenly, bam, a new marketing strategy pops up promising to revolutionize your business. And without a second thought, you dive in.

It may be that one of your worthy rivals, as Simon Sinek calls them, one of your competitors, you've seen them doing something on social media and again, before you know it, you're off copying them or trying to reinvent what they're actually doing. Before you know it, another new shiny opportunity catches your eye and that cycle repeats itself again. But the impact It can happen. Your business, shiny stuff, syndrome is very real. You know, here's some of the things that I find in my business.

when I find myself following shiny stuff, by the way, I'm a Gemini too. So it's like rabbits. I don't know if I go in a totally different direction, but the reality is the cost of shiny stuff. Syndrome is real. First up, We, um, seem to have an inability to actually finish projects where hopping from one project to the next, never really pausing to collect data or analyze what is truly working.

The second thing I see happening is many of these ideas that we have, that we're trying to put into our business end up being. Poorly planned ideas without alignment to your true business goals, your strategies can become quite wishy washy. third thing I see with many of my clients that suffer from shiny stuff, stuff syndrome, gosh, try saying that quickly.

Shiny stuff syndrome is that they end up burning through cash, following every single new idea, investing with every genius that promises to be able to turn your world around. And they burn through cash because they're not investing wisely. You might be scattering your resources broadly, hoping that something will stick. And finally, if we're not careful, we hit this point of stagnation. As you flip flop behind ideas or between ideas, your business stagnates.

You might confuse your potential clients and leads start drying up. It's a bit like. Going into a gym, right? Every, every time you walked into a gym, you tried out a different workout routine without really sticking to any particular plan. You know, one day you might do yoga. The next day it's a heavy lifting session followed by some random dance class. Yes, you're doing stuff. You actually are at risk of confusing yourself. You might even pull a muscle or two and you never really see.

Any real progress, the cost of shiny syndrome, shiny stuff syndrome is very real. And it's very real in this entrepreneurial world that we are operating in. There's lots and lots of stuff being done, lots and lots and lots of movement, but no real gains. So if this is you, if you are finding yourself struggling with the three deadly S's of shiny stuff syndrome, I want to give you a couple of ideas to focus on.

it's time to really explore some strategies that To help you, ensure that you stay on track. Now, Brendan Bouchard wrote an amazing book about this called The Motivation Manifesto. I love this book. And he talks about the fact that every single person has some form of.

The first spark of motivation, he says, is this ambition, the ambition, the belief that you're going to build a business, you're going to launch a product, you're going to hit seven figures, whatever it may be, we all have an ambition and he. Suggests that the second big phase of work is expectancy. So we believe that we can, you know, New Year's Eve is a classic example of this, isn't it? I'm, I'm going to run a marathon this year. I'm going to not work at the weekends this year.

We set the ambition and at a certain moment in time, we have an expectancy that we can. And Brendan Bouchard argues that the ambition and the expectancy Things that create that first spark of motivation. Now, I reckon that ambition and expectancy are also the things that create the first spark of shiny stuff syndrome. And there's a third piece that we have to think about and consider and be intentional about to ensure that we actually gain momentum towards our ultimate goals.

And this third piece that will ensure sustained. and focused activity and delivery, leverage, and achievement of your goals is attention. Expectancy and ambition are awesome. They're the very things that kick off. the activity that's needed, but without attention, without focusing and being intentional about attention, I think this is what fuels shiny stuff syndrome. And so actually what we need to do is four key things.

We've got to pause, we've got to communicate, we've got to measure, and then sometimes We've got to quit. So let me just talk through these four key things. So let's kick off with pause. If you find yourself at risk of following shiny stuff syndrome, the first thing I want you to do is pause. Give yourself that moment before you jump in and say yes. Pause, give yourself a moment to sit with any new ideas, any new shiny thing that's coming your way, give yourself a moment to sit and to pause.

And I would suggest that if it's not a hell yes, this is the very thing that's going to help me achieve my goals, then it's probably. So first thing I want you to do is pause. The second thing before we take any action is communicate. And this is where I want you to tap into your inner circle, that trusted board of advisors that you have around you, that network that you have.

Of trusted people whose opinions you value, the people who, you know, are not going to say yes, just to make you feel good. They're going to really challenge your thinking. And in this space, it's about talking through with those people, your ideas, talk it through, share with them what you're thinking, explain to them why this idea is aligned to achieving your overarching goal, and then listen.

Listen to their perspectives, listen to their questions, listen to their challenging because you're in a circle are the very people that can provide you with invaluable insight and prevent you from making any hasty decisions. So step one, pause. Step two, communicate the third one.

Then if you are going to do the very thing that you've decided to do is to measure, it's so important that you decide and you define what success looks like for every single new venture that you're going to undertake this measure criteria. This definition of success, and this is where this paying attention is so key, pay attention with every single result that you are getting as a result of the thing that you are doing. This will help you stay focused and measure your progress.

Effectively in my elevator in the inner circle community, we do this every single day, every single week and every single quarter, every single quarter, we decide what our measures of success are. We then plug them into an accountability dashboard so that every single week my clients can measure whether the. Effort that they're putting in the work that they are doing is delivering the results that they want.

Measuring your activity is key because it's, this is the very thing that can show you either what to stop, what to start and what to keep doing to ensure that you are moving towards your goals. Now, the final step here of. Avoiding shiny stuff syndrome is quit knowing when cut your losses. Now I'm not saying that every single experiment, every single thing that you do, you quit. That's not what I'm saying.

But what I am saying is that through the last step of measure, making a decision as to what success look like, and when to quit. is key. Knowing when to cut your losses. It's about sticking to your long term goals and adjusting strategies as necessary to remain aligned with your ultimate vision. So four things, pause, communicate, measure, and if necessary, quit. These three deadly S's, shiny stuff syndrome, isn't just about distraction.

It's a mindset that can be mastered with awareness and discipline and intentionality. By staying focused on your objectives and resisting that wonderful allure of every new shiny distraction, you can actually forge a path to a more sustainable and successful business. Remember staying focused. Isn't about avoiding new ideas. It's not about avoiding new ideas, but it is about mastering the art of selective attention. Keep your eyes on your prize and let the rest of the noise fade away.

So until next time, keep being brilliant and don't let the shiny stuff get in your way this week.