The hidden cost of saying yes

Without a sense of urgency, nothing gets done.

But don’t overdo it…

As I drove through the mountains for the long Easter weekend, I listened to a business podcast where two entrepreneurs discussed the power of now.

While the empty roads, sunshine, and endless fjord views should calm me down, I was everything but relaxed.

These two guys were explaining to each other how one of the moats of their business is that they move so fast. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for moving fast. But you can take it too far.

“We don’t do next week. That feels like months away. If we ask our team something, we expect them to do it now. Worst case? Tomorrow.”

Woah, easy tiger.

Does that mean they sit around all day until a new idea pops up?

Sure, it’s nice to execute quickly. Speed eats perfection for breakfast, just like culture eats strategy. But if people drop everything to work on something urgent, their regular planned work gets pushed out.

If that happens once, that’s no big deal.

But if that’s the norm, how can you ever plan normal work?

That’s firefighting. Shooting from the hip.

The thing is, chasing shiny objects kills more businesses than the lack of ideas does. You have to find a balance. Walk the tightrope between sticking to the plan while not being blind to your surroundings.

Rigid on strategy, but flexible on tactics.

It makes me think of the basics of meditation. When something happens, you want to respond - not react. Give it a few seconds. Take a deep breath.

No knee-jerk reactions.

So next time your sponsor comes up with a “great idea” from his golf buddy, push back a little. Do some back-of-the-napkin math instead of defaulting to yes and figuring out how.

Because a yes to something is a no to something else.

Giving your sponsor insights like that is not disrespectful.

That’s leadership.

Talk soon,
Jasper