“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
We’ve spent time in this space talking about the importance of planning, of thinking about WHERE you want to be before taking action, etc. Certainly there are too many businesses out there who lack focus & direction, who have no idea what they want to be when they grow up. They’re just trying to go in as many directions as they can as fast as possible, with the end result typically being only disappointment.
Today, though, I’m thinking about those on the opposite end of the spectrum. Businesses who spend a lot of time thinking, planning, debating – and then never really do anything. Unfortunately for them, they end up just as disappointed as those with no direction.
I’m spending quite a bit of time lately with people who want to grow their businesses. We’ve been talking about customers, competitors, products, markets, etc – all the fun stuff. But at some point, after all the discussion, you actually have to do something. It’s not enough to spend an afternoon working through your company’s competitive advantages. You have to convert that into action.
Sometimes I think some of us (I tend to fall into this group) want so much to make sure that our strategies and plans are perfect that we struggle to actually get going. Yes, it’s good to have things in order before you move forward, but you can’t wait forever. I also think sometimes our obsession with the perfect plan is really fear of failure. As long as we are still working on the plan, we can’t fail.
Take the time to truly develop your vision for your organization (and your life). Take the time to develop strategies and action plans that will get you to that vision. Take the time to really work through what’s best for your business.
But once you’ve done that – get moving! Don’t spend all your time in preparation. Life is about doing, not thinking about doing. You’ve got a vision, you’ve got a plan – now make it happen.
