A New Year Resolution: To Err

Our workshops on Speed & Agility start with a simple question to the participants:

Write down three important decisions made in the recent past that, in retrospect, you wish you had made sooner.

Most participants not only complete the exercise quickly, but often exceed the limit of three. But when asked to recall decisions they wish they had deliberated longer, there is usually dead silence in the room. Rarely is there a participant with even one such decision to offer. Why is that? It is human nature to endure the pain of the present than risk enacting change. Our upbringing, our schooling and our experiences have emphasized the value of being right more than the value of being fast.

Statistical quality control theory asserts that to ensure that the innocent is not wrongly found guilty, one must either be willing to acquit the guilty in many instances or accept an arduous judicial process. But business decisions and business activity seldom have the gravity implicit in the judicial example. An organization can become more speedy and agile if management is more conscious of the costs of the two kinds of error and the cost of the time to resolve the issue. Instead, we usually let our instincts decide, favoring being right over being fast.

Our provocative New Year resolution is to make decisions fast and have at least one example to show by the end of the year of pulling the trigger too quickly.

Food for Thought is our way of sharing interesting concepts on corporate leadership and management with others who might find it useful. The thoughts offered are intended to be controversial and thought provoking. They are intended to help our readers intentionally realize their potential, what we call Potentionality.