While superior productivity is neither simple nor easily reduced to its component parts, most people would universally agree that productivity requires a focus on priorities---a focus that excludes the extraneous, stripping away anything that doesn't contribute to a specific goal. Some might even call such a tight focus an obsession. I've been called obsessive multiple times. After one such accusation last week, I decided to explore it a bit more to discover if it's a bad thing.

An obsession is a set of repetitive thoughts at the forefront of your mind, holding your imagination hostage and compelling you to focus your efforts on a single subject. Hmmm...defined that way, productive focus could indeed be an obsession, if you're concentrating solely on a high-value activity. Perhaps the biggest difference is that you can turn off your productive focus at will and put it away at the end of the day, just like any other work tool.

Perhaps this is where people confuse the issue. Can you put your work "away"? Do you work when you ought to rest, or do you constantly think about what you "should" be doing when you're not working? Have you tied your sense of self-worth to your to-do list? Do you think of yourself as little more than what you can accomplish? 

Perhaps the distinction of control is where the confusion over "obsession" stems from. Yes, I can put my work away and stop thinking about it. I can go to my son's ballgame and not touch my phone. I block off six weeks of vacation a year and let my office manager hold down the fort. But when I'm working, I'd agree my productive focus is obsessive. When I'm not working, I'm obsessed with not working. I might check into the office, but I do it by design, not by default.

Sustainable Competence

Many psychologists believe obsessions are by definition self-destructive. Some buck the trend by insisting "productive obsessions" can motivate you, while allowing you to maintain control of your environment and fate. I see merit in both arguments, but in my experience, you can't sustain even productive obsessions for long. You can't have a productive focus non-stop; you are not a robot. It's better for you (and your organization) if you burn steadily and long, rather than flaring briefly and winking out.

In this spirit, I've prepared a brief list of characteristics that define positively obsessed individuals---those well-aligned with organizational goals-who contribute for years or decades at a high level of competence without burning out. These are the real superstars and the backbones of any organization. Among other things, they: