--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t get distracted by the shiny object…" description: "\"Don’t get distracted by the shiny object [and if a crisis comes], execute on the fundamentals.\" — Reed Hastings" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png" --- # Don’t get distracted by the shiny object \[and if a crisis… ![“Don’t get distracted by the shiny object [and if a crisis comes], execute on the fundamentals.” quote by Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png) > “Don’t get distracted by the shiny object \[and if a crisis comes\], execute on the fundamentals.” [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The advice warns against chasing flashy trends during crises, urging adherence to core principles and fundamentals instead. **In simple terms:** Focus on basics, not distractions. Key Takeaway Prioritize fundamental strategies when facing uncertainty. Themes strategy focus crisis management discipline Mood pragmatic cautious Type business leadership When to use this quote - product launches - market downturns - organizational change Key Concepts business fundamentals risk management leadership priorities Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate a distraction from a strategic innovation? - What fundamentals are most critical for your organization? A Different Perspective Shiny opportunities can sometimes offer genuine value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [A knowledge of and the ability to properly and quickly execute the fundamentals. Be prepared and cover every little detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/a-knowledge-of-and-the-ability-to-properly-and-quickly-execute-the/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [God is always at work, though we cannot see it, preparing people he has chosen for leadership. When the crisis comes, God fits His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/god-is-always-at-work-though-we-cannot-see-it-preparing-people-he-has/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [It's been my experience, Charlotte, that the crisis never comes as or when you expect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-duer-miller/it-s-been-my-experience-charlotte-that-the-crisis-never-comes-as-or/) [Alice Duer Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-duer-miller/) > [“When this ultimate crisis comes... when there is no way out - that is the very moment when we explode from within and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/when-this-ultimate-crisis-comes-when-there-is-no-way-out-that-is-the/) [Émile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [I think for anyone who's gone through a crisis, there comes a turning point, an epiphany, that marks the beginning of the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/i-think-for-anyone-who-s-gone-through-a-crisis-there-comes-a-turning/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [Out of crisis comes opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/out-of-crisis-comes-opportunity/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [“The word “crisis” comes from the Greek word krísis, meaning “a turning point.” A crisis is a crack in the false-self system, through which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-riggs/the-word-crisis-comes-from-the-greek-word-kr-sis-meaning-a-turning/) [Benjamin Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-riggs/) > [We in America should see that no man is ever given, no matter how gradually or how noble and excellent the man, the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-in-america-should-see-that-no-man-is-ever-given-no-matter-how/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [When you give power to an executive you do not know who will be filling that position when the time of crisis comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/when-you-give-power-to-an-executive-you-do-not-know-who-will-be/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before it comes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/if-you-would-not-have-a-man-flinch-when-the-crisis-comes-train-him/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“I have lived long enough to know that wherever there is crisis there is always Christ. Look for Jesus in the middle of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/i-have-lived-long-enough-to-know-that-wherever-there-is-crisis-there/) [Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/) > [“Out of crisis comes clarity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-o-toole/out-of-crisis-comes-clarity/) Randolph O'Toole > [Literature in France seems to be undergoing a crisis now, and nothing comes immediately to mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/literature-in-france-seems-to-be-undergoing-a-crisis-now-and-nothing/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [To be mature means to face, and not evade, every fresh crisis that comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-kunkel/to-be-mature-means-to-face-and-not-evade-every-fresh-crisis-that-comes/) Fritz Kunkel > [“And, therefore, hold your head high, Herr Stiefel!——Such a crisis as this comes to all of us and will soon be surmounted. If all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-wedekind/and-therefore-hold-your-head-high-herr-stiefel-such-a-crisis-as-this/) [Frank Wedekind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-wedekind/) ## More by Reed Hastings > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [School districts in the US don't adopt technology very quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/school-districts-in-the-us-don-t-adopt-technology-very-quickly/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Something will eventually replace the Internet. But it's hard to know what and when it will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/something-will-eventually-replace-the-internet-but-it-s-hard-to-know/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [The Costa Rican government is prioritizing laying fiber optic over paving roads. Costa Rica is trying to become one of the Internet societies. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/the-costa-rican-government-is-prioritizing-laying-fiber-optic-over/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Comparing Apple to Netflix is like comparing apples to oranges, especially if the oranges made so many mistakes that people stopped eating oranges and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/comparing-apple-to-netflix-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I don't know of any Internet service that opens on a regional basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-don-t-know-of-any-internet-service-that-opens-on-a-regional-basis/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [So much of the downstream revenue is linked to that initial excitement, to how much revenue is produced in the domestic box office. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/so-much-of-the-downstream-revenue-is-linked-to-that-initial/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [We are seeing the beginning of things. Web 2.0 is broadband. Web 3.0 is 10 gigabits a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/we-are-seeing-the-beginning-of-things-web-2-0-is-broadband-web-3-0-is/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Great leaders, like Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos, also focused on the long term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/great-leaders-like-steve-jobs-or-jeff-bezos-also-focused-on-the-long/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Do not tolerate brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/do-not-tolerate-brilliant-jerks-the-cost-to-teamwork-is-too-high/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Stone Age. Bronze Age. Iron Age. We define entire epics of humanity by the technology they use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/stone-age-bronze-age-iron-age-we-define-entire-epics-of-humanity-by/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I think there will be 20 years of evolution from linear broadcast to internet television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-think-there-will-be-20-years-of-evolution-from-linear-broadcast-to/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Tomorrow when you come to work, if it doesn't make the customer happy, move the business forward, and save us money - don't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/tomorrow-when-you-come-to-work-if-it-doesn-t-make-the-customer-happy/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [As an entrepreneur you have to feel like you can jump out of an aeroplane because you're confident that you'll catch a bird flying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/as-an-entrepreneur-you-have-to-feel-like-you-can-jump-out-of-an/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I'm on the Facebook board now. Little did they know that I thought Facebook was really stupid when I first heard about it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-m-on-the-facebook-board-now-little-did-they-know-that-i-thought/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) [Explore all 66 Reed Hastings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) ## More Crisis quotes > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) Jim Wright > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Disasters affect every state, and North Carolinians have given our own tax dollars to help neighbors and those in other states in times of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/disasters-affect-every-state-and-north-carolinians-have-given-our-own/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [When this coronavirus crisis is over, what kind of society will we be? A more important question is what kind of society do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/when-this-coronavirus-crisis-is-over-what-kind-of-society-will-we-be/) [Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Firstly, economic globalisation has brought prosperity and development to many countries, but also financial crises to Asia, Latin America and Russia, and increasing poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/firstly-economic-globalisation-has-brought-prosperity-and-development/) [Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/) > [If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/if-we-europeans-are-not-in-a-state-to-be-able-to-solve-the-refugee/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [Urbanisation is not a crisis but an opportunity, seeing it as a crisis is wrong. And not just villages, we want everyone to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/urbanisation-is-not-a-crisis-but-an-opportunity-seeing-it-as-a-crisis/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) [Browse all 3,419 Crisis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don’t get distracted by the shiny object [and if a crisis comes], execute on the fundamentals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Reed Hastings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object-and-if-a-crisis-comes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crisis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object-and-if-a-crisis-comes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/reed-hastings-10304_crisis_don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object_872780.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don’t get distracted by the shiny object [and if a crisis comes], execute on the fundamentals.” — Reed Hastings", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Reed Hastings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Don’t get distracted by the shiny...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object-and-if-a-crisis-comes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/don-t-get-distracted-by-the-shiny-object-and-if-a-crisis-comes/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```