The exercise below appears in Chapter 13 of Start With What Works. If you like it and want more, download a free chapter.
I often hear leaders talk about some new initiative they need to take. It might be something that would solve a big problem, like getting people to stop over-serving a dwindling market just because it’s familiar and comfortable, and instead focus on a more promising new market.
Or it might be something that would create loads of new value, like getting different silos in the business to start working together on innovations that benefit the customer, rather than squabbling over budgets and turf.
Whatever the issue, they’ll do a good job of convincing me that it’s important and urgent. Then they’ll say: “But we won’t do it YET. I want to WAIT until I can dedicate more resources, give people a good run at it, get these hires completed...”
I call this “Getting ready to prepare to start to change”, and it’s one of the major causes of slow progress toward strategic goals.
“But,” you might protest, “I really do need to wait.” And the rationale will be solid, no doubt.
The thing is though that when the appointed time finally comes around you may find:
- Someone else has now grabbed those resources you were going to use.
- The people you earmarked are now busy with other new things. (People are always too busy, aren’t they? They rarely get an absolutely clear run at anything.)
- While you’ve been making those new appointments, one of the existing contributors you were counting on has left your organization for pastures new.
And perhaps most concerning,
- Your competitors have not been waiting for you to get ready.
The timing is never ideal. Sometimes, waiting for it to become ideal is just that: waiting.
An Exercise: How Dangerous is Delay?
Think of an important initiative that you are waiting to start because conditions are not yet right. Let’s re-examine your assumptions.
1) Consider ROI
- On a scale of 1..10, where 1 is trivial, and 10 is game-changing, how impactful are the potential results of this initiative?
- What are you losing by delaying? Are you forgoing revenue? Are you disappointing customers? Are you ceding advantage to your competitors?
- What if you never do this initiative?
2) Consider the preconditions for launching the initiative. They are likely to include cash, personnel, and time, but there may be others too.
- Of those preconditions that are in place, how sure are you that they will still be available “when the time is right?” Will you still have the budget? Will you still have key people?
- Of those preconditions that you are waiting for, how many are MUSTS, and how many are just WANTS that you could do without?
- How many of the preconditions you are waiting for could you actually make happen yourself, now, rather than waiting?
3) Consider consequences
- What’s the best thing that could happen if you wait?
- What’s the worst thing that could happen if you wait?
- What’s the worst thing that could happen if you get started now?
- What’s the best thing that could happen if you get started now?
Copyright. Andy Bass 2022.
The exercise above appears in Chapter 13 of Start With What Works. If you like it and want more, download a free chapter.