There seems to be an overly cautious mentality in some organizations that is biased to study and reflect instead of taking action and learning as you go.
This phenomenon is due to a combination of people being risk averse, paralysis by analysis—I can’t take any course of action until I have more information—or working in an organization that doesn’t encourage the just do it ethic, and punishes people who make mistakes.
Results come from getting’ it DONE, not from pondering and over-analyzing.
If organization culture demands that people follow the rules, stay inside the box and punish those who dare dip their toe in outside waters there will not likely be an abundance of employees who try new things, learn from their mistakes and effectively contribute to taking their organization to new levels.
If you find yourself in such an organization, you may have to either wait for more enlightened leadership or leave.
A pervasive bias for inaction in an organization that discourages independent thought and action is an opportunity for people who want to BE DiFFERENT.
While most people contemplate the issues and study them from every angle, the Stand-Out breed do the appropriate (to the risks involved) amount of study and move to execution FAST.
Successful people focus on getting their plan just about right and executing it flawlessly as opposed to trying to create a perfect strategy (which doesn’t exist anyways).
Winners translate thought into action, FAST. A decision taken to address a critical business matter is quickly followed with a detailed implementation plan to realize the desired results.”
The focus isn’t on determining the most pristine and elegant way of arriving at the destination.
On the contrary, it is on taking the most practical achievable course to get the expected results. It might be messy and inelegant but who cares?
Taking the hill is all that matters. Achieving superlative results is the game to be played.
Plan on the Run = plan (get it ‘just about right’) – execute – learn – adjust – execute ….. forever.
I’m not suggesting that you should do an incomplete analysis of a situation.
However, ensure the depth of analysis is consistent with the decision you have to make. A $10,000 decision doesn’t require the same amount of rigor as a $100,000 one.
In addition, you never will have a complete information file on any matter you are dealing with. You will always have incomplete information. You will always get biased input.
The picture will never be perfectly clear.
Get 80% of the information you need, make the decision to take a certain course and get on with it.
Accept the fact that intended results rarely occur without mid-course corrections as it is impossible to predict all factors that influence success.
Issues will arise that you never considered and you will have to deal with them. The important thing is to make progress while having contingencies in place to mitigate the negative consequences from unforeseen events.