Here’s Your Dream Girl — And Why Your Business Needs Focus

As a teenager in the Fast Times at Ridgemont High era, working at the music store in the mall felt like one of the coolest jobs imaginable — at least for a band kid like me.

Malls in the 80s were the new town squares. Beyond the stores, they hosted events that turned the whole place into a community stage. One of those events in my area was a salute to local and county law enforcement. The mall filled with shiny police cars, rescue equipment, inflatable dive-team boats, and full-rig ambulances.

Because I had law enforcement in my extended family, I got invited to participate in one of the demonstrations. They suited me up in the big fluffy decoy outfit — the one police dogs are supposed to bite. (Or not bite.)

The dog would sniff each of us, identify the “bad guy,” and take action. I didn’t get to be the bad guy, and the dog never bit me — which was both a relief and a slight disappointment.

The Sketch Artist

After the exhibition, I was hanging around with a group of officers and asked if I could meet the sketch artist. I told him I was in college and trying to find my dream girl. My idea was simple: if I could describe her, he could draw her, and I’d know what to look for.

He took the challenge seriously.

“Describe her eyes,” he said.
I gave him an example — maybe the girl from some TV show.
“How about her mouth?”
Another reference.
Then her hair. Her nose. Her smile.

But somewhere along the way, the officers around us started chiming in with their own ideas. One guy suggested a nose. Another offered eyebrows. Someone else contributed a hairstyle. Another added lips. Ears. Chin. You name it.

The sketch artist blended all of it together. He turned the drawing around with the confidence of a man unveiling the Mona Lisa.

She was, without exaggeration, one of the most homely women I had ever seen. And I never tried to track her down.

The Problem With Too Many Cooks

The problem was obvious: too many cooks spoil the broth. There was no single focus, no unified vision. Everyone had their own preferences, and when you merge a dozen conflicting “ideals,” you don’t get an ideal — you get a mess.

I once read that FOCUS is an acronym:

F – Follow
O – One
C – Course
U – Until
S – Success

In business, that’s everything. You need a laser-focused understanding of who your ideal customer is. If you can describe them clearly, an AI could even generate a picture of them. But if you let a group of middle-aged public servants build your customer avatar the way they built my dream girl, you’ll end up with the same result I did in the center court of the mall: an ugly avatar who doesn’t want what you’re selling.

Who Do You Want to Be a Hero To?

Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach, wrote a book built around one clarifying question:

Who do you want to be a hero to?

You don’t have to be a cape-wearing hero. You just have to know who you’re creating value for. When you identify the audience you want to serve, you grow their capabilities — and your own.

Trying to be everything to everyone doesn’t work.

And yes, judging my teenage dream girl purely on looks wasn’t the most mature strategy. But the idea of narrowing down what she might look like was, in its own way, a unique attempt at focus.

Ironically, it’s not far off from how online dating apps work today: height, weight, education, interests, filters, sliders, checkboxes.

I met my wife before all that took root, so I can’t say whether the system is better or worse. But I can say this:

In business, it’s imperative to know your ideal customer avatar.

Describe them clearly.
Serve them intentionally.
Follow one course until success.