The Lie of ‘Priorities’: Why Focus Is a Singular Discipline

Did you know the word priority was only ever used in the singular form for hundreds of years?

It entered the English language in the 1400s and meant the very first thing—the one item that came before all others. And for the next 500 years, that’s how it stayed. Singular. Clear. Undeniable.

Then somewhere in the 20th century, we started saying “priorities.” Plural.

As if by declaring five things “most important,” we could bend time and energy to our will. It’s like claiming there were multiple winners in a race. Everyone gets a trophy, right? But that’s not how performance works. Not in competition. Not in strategy. Real focus doesn’t allow for handing out participation ribbons. It means hard choices. It declares a winner. It says: this comes first.

I see this all the time in organizations. A strategy deck gets rolled out with a tidy list of “top five priorities” (or more). The intent is right; they’re trying to signal what matters. But the effect is the opposite.

Teams don’t know where to start. So they try to do everything at once. Resources get scattered. Progress slows. Friction builds. And execution stalls.

If you want strategy to come to life, you have to pick one true priority.

Then stack your resources behind it—people, time, budget, leadership attention. Whatever can be directed at the priority should be.

That doesn’t mean the whole company drops everything and works on just one thing. Not everyone will be needed at the same time. Some teams may have different skill sets. Others might be waiting on dependencies before they can jump in. So yes—people can and should keep making progress on other important work.

But when the priority does need them? It moves to the front of the line. It gets the meeting time. It gets the budget. It gets the A-team. Everything else steps aside.

Because only one thing wears the crown. And that’s the point.

And this isn’t just a company problem. It’s personal too.

Look at your own calendar. Your to-do list. Your week. If everything’s labeled important, then nothing truly is. Instead of asking “What are my priorities?” try:

“What’s the one thing that deserves my full attention right now?”

Then go all-in on it. Relentlessly. Completely.

Strategy execution requires sequencing what matters. Leadership is about making the call.

So next time you’re tempted to list your “top three priorities,” stop. Ask yourself—and your team—What comes first Name it. Resource it. Deliver it. Then move on.

That’s how you get real traction. That’s how execution happens.

And that’s what leadership actually looks like.