The Power of Methodical Action

How often does your business change its 5 year plan? How many long term projects are scheduled to complete next year? How many meetings does it take to get through the discovery phase of a company initiative? If you know the answers to these questions you might consider using some technology to rethink your corporate decision making and initiative processes.

I find most business decision making is governed by two similar methods. One method invokes the old adage “two heads are better than one”. This manifests itself as a committee decision where no one is responsible and consensus is the goal. The other method is to research industry best practices with the goal of picking the generally agreed upon industry solution. The result here is to export the committee thinking to the industry in general, further reducing accountability and the likelihood of success. Both of these solutions are generally accepted and perfectly defensible when it comes to keeping your job. The problem is that neither method helps the company to succeed and grow in a manner that will ensure it can keep you employed.

In this business climate it is no longer acceptable to be just as good as the next company. Competition requires that your business to be an industry leader. Using standard industry practices and solutions can lift a struggling business up to average performance, but by definition, “standard practices” cannot propel that business on to greatness. What you need is a formula for success that is one part analytical thinking, one part technology, and one part action.

The first thing any decision or initiative needs is a plan. Not just any plan, but a quick and dirty plan. I know you’re thinking that might seem counterproductive. But the best laid plans often fail to incorporate even a most basic understanding that come from early experimentation. So chart the course and find the simplest and least costly step possible in that direction. Quick and early failures are exactly what you’re looking for to expand your knowledge of the problem and its possible solutions. Planning to fail early and often actually keeps you from wasting larger amounts of time and money.

The next step is to use some simple technology to track your progress. You don’t need the industries best software to get started. Initially keeping score using excel spreadsheets to capture the raw numbers and generate metrics is a quick and reliable way to keep you on track. Consider using metrics that are directly related to your bottom line like labor hours, material costs, and revenue. You might also consider creating MS Access databases or Google Forms to gather and analyze data. The key is in the consistent data collection and analysis to determine if your decisions and plans are helping you reach your overall goals. Course correction should be constant and based on hard numbers, not perceptions.

In any project or decision, the final thing you need to overcome is inertia. Analysis paralysis is a real phenomenon. It’s easy and comforting to talk about taking action. But it’s so much more enlightening to actually more forward even in small steps. The faster you can implement even the beginnings of a plan, the easier it is to course correct and find the real solution. There is power in thoughtful action.

Time and again businesses fall into the “Don’t Fail” paradigm. That mindset tends to slow everything down except your competitor. There is power and energy in movement. Harness the latent energy in your business by engaging the wheels of change. You’ll be glad you did.