Anything Worth Doing is Worth Doing Poorly
Why you shouldn’t let the fear of not being ready stop you from pursuing what’s important
You know the adage, “if you’re not going to do it right, don’t do it at all.” I admit this perspective feels better than suggesting a thing worth doing is worth doing poorly. When would you ever want to do something poorly? I know I don’t.
You’re a leader. People expect you to make quick, decisive decisions and to be right all the time. Sometimes your decisions work out and sometimes they don’t. The consequences range from inconsequential to disastrous. That’s a lot of pressure.
Your fear of making the wrong decision or not doing a thing right may keep you from moving forward. That’s a good thing, right? Taking more time to gather additional information, to analyze your options, and to be sure of the decision ensures a better outcome…doesn’t it?
Yes and no.
The Internet allows you to research the pros and cons of every option available to you. Like me, have you ever performed a simple search that led to an endless link-clicking exercise that ended hours later? Instead of assurance, are you left more confused than ever as to what the right action is?
According to psychologist Barry Schwartz in “Paradox of Choice,” while increased choice allows us to achieve objectively better results, it also leads to greater anxiety and indecision, otherwise known as analysis paralysis.
“Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70 percent of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90 percent, in most cases, you’re probably being slow.” — Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
Not having all the answers is not a good excuse for not proceeding. You will rarely have all the answers up front. You won’t likely figure it all out in planning. There will often be unknowns and some risks.
I’m not suggesting you abandon your threshold for quality and accuracy. The point is, don’t let the fear of not knowing enough or being good enough (yet) stop you from pursuing what’s…
