When you feel your company is struggling to stay focused, take heart in knowing that even the biggest companies — with their monster budgets for hiring smart people — often have the same problem.

Here’s an excerpt of the Washington Post’s coverage of focus problems at Sprint Nextel

Interim Sprint CEO Sets Out To Restore Company’s Focus

[Interim CEO Paul] Saleh said the company has tried to tackle too many big changes in the past year.

Saleh’s solution: Improve customer service and simplify the business.

“We had too many things on our plate before. . . . We were doing too many things to reach too many customers too quickly,” he said. “We have to do fewer things, but do them very well.”

– Kim Hart, in Interim Sprint CEO Sets Out To Restore Company’s Focus, Washington Post, 19 October 2007. (Emphasis added.)

Photo Credit : Sprint Nextel. In case you were wondering, their 2006 revenue was $41 billion dollars. Tons of money do not guarantee smart decisions.