Eliminate distractions and focus on one priority at a time to achieve meaningful, measurable results.
Most teams grind for growth, but the best ones systemise it. In this step, you’ll see why a structured approach always beats random tactics. You’ll follow Random Rick, Specialist Steve, and Solid Sarah to understand how a system-driven growth approach can double revenue without doubling workload.
Introduction
The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan presents a transformative approach to achieving extraordinary success by focusing on a singular priority at any given time. The book challenges conventional beliefs about productivity and success, offering a clear path to personal and professional growth through prioritisation, disciplined focus, and intentional living.
Keller and Papasan identify six common misconceptions that hinder productivity and dilute focus:
By addressing these lies, Keller encourages readers to discard ineffective habits and adopt a mindset that embraces simplicity and focus.
At the heart of the book lies the focusing question:
“What’s the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
This question helps identify the highest-priority task that drives meaningful progress. By narrowing focus to a single impactful action, individuals can achieve exponential results.
Keller introduces the concept of the domino effect, where small, focused actions create a chain reaction, leading to significant achievements over time. Success is built sequentially, not simultaneously, and each accomplishment builds momentum for the next.
Time blocking involves dedicating uninterrupted time to focus solely on the ONE thing. This strategy guards against distractions and ensures consistent progress on high-priority tasks.
The authors stress that extraordinary results stem from living with:
To achieve success, individuals must commit to:
Keller identifies four obstacles that undermine focus:
Addressing these challenges ensures a clear path to extraordinary results.
Keller and Papasan conclude that success is not about doing more but doing what matters most. By focusing on the ONE thing, individuals can simplify their lives, maximise productivity, and achieve extraordinary results.
The One Thing is a powerful guide for anyone seeking clarity, focus, and purpose in their pursuit of success.
If your marketing and sales teams are too busy firefighting — fixing tools, chasing data, and dealing with messy handovers — you’ll never have time to focus on real growth. The Growth Operations Programme fixes your operations first, so you can finally work on scaling up.
Solid Growth helps B2B service companies scale — not with random tactics, but with clear systems that align marketing and sales into one predictable growth engine. Built on 13 years of hands-on experience — helping teams move from firefighting to predictable, repeatable revenue growth.
15 years experience
1,500 marketers trained since 2015
Exited 6 companies
My name is Ewoud Uphof, a marketing strategist with 15 years of experience. I've been fascinated by growth since 2010, and I created this guide out of a passion for sharing what I've learned. These guides are a way for me to give back to the marketing community and are also linked to my video course, which covers these topics in even greater depth.
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HubSpot Marketing Hub is a B2B marketing automation platform with CRM integration, powerful workflows, and multi-channel marketing tools for scalable growth.
Customer.io is a flexible automation platform designed for precise segmentation and real-time messaging, ideal for B2B service businesses.
Omnisend is an all-in-one marketing platform designed for e-commerce businesses. With powerful automation and seamless integrations, it helps businesses scale their email and SMS marketing efforts effortlessly.
Find and fix what’s slowing your team down. This free scan assesses your marketing, sales, and automation setup, giving you clear recommendations to improve efficiency and eliminate bottlenecks.
Free up a full day every week to focus on growth. We'll fix the systems, tools, and workflows holding your team back.
Master Compound Growth at your own pace—perfect for individual marketers and consultants who want a structured, repeatable way to grow.
Find and fix what’s slowing your team down. This free scan assesses your marketing, sales, and automation setup, giving you clear recommendations to improve efficiency and eliminate bottlenecks.
A structured, hands-on programme designed for teams that want to fix bottlenecks, systemise execution, and scale growth predictably.
Eliminate distractions and focus on one priority at a time to achieve meaningful, measurable results.
Find and fix what’s slowing your team down. This free scan assesses your marketing, sales, and automation setup, giving you clear recommendations to improve efficiency and eliminate bottlenecks.
Free up a full day every week to focus on growth. We'll fix the systems, tools, and workflows holding your team back.