Ready or Not, Growth Requires a Leap

As the days get shorter, the lake chills, and it gets harder and harder to dive in. We hold hands and count down 1–2 … my husband Cam dives in on three, leaving me behind on the dock, frozen in time. I stand there imagining the shock to my body and am not able to take the plunge. I also see Cam’s joy of having conquered his fears, and while clearly adjusting to the cold, he is content.

This was me, three years ago—before learning the benefits of diving just before you are ready.

When you do anything in life before you are 100% ready, you eliminate the useless thoughts your brain conjures up about the pain of the chill. It frees you from the self-disappointment you feel when you see others who plunged, already adjusted to the cold, and reaping the benefits of early action.

One of the eight themes of excellence in business, according to Tom Peters, author of “In Search of Excellence”, is when leaders, and organizations have a “A bias for action.”

Yet research tells us that most leaders are not leaning into this bias to help their businesses and teams succeed. According to researchers William Samuelson (Boston University) and Richard Zeckhauser (Harvard), the decision not to act in the face of a decision is greatly influenced by a“status quo” or omission bias:

“Across scenarios, harms from acting are judged more harshly than equal harms from not acting (omission bias), pushing leaders to ‘wait’ for perfect.”

In other words, “what will they think” or “what will they say” wreaks havoc on our ability to leap. We would rather play it safe than risk the unknown.

Acting before you are ready is a skill that develops over time. It can backfire if you don’t have a process for decision-making that reduces risks and increases the probability of payoff.

In the example of leaping into the lake—or cold water therapy—there is ample evidence, including my own experience: the benefits of increased circulation, the splendour of the experience, and the joy of overcoming fear are immediate.

In business, the rationale for a bias toward action is this: it accelerates growth.

When you take action, you are forced to learn from a series of reactions within your business ecosystem. A new marketing newsletter generates interest… or it doesn’t. A new IC generates sales… or they don’t.

All actions create a reaction, but here’s the truth: you cannot improve what you do not produce.

The key to taking action before you are ready is to narrow your list of options. Samuelson and Zeckhauser found:

“The more options that were included in the choice set, the stronger was the relative bias for the status quo.”

If your decision to act or not act comes down to just two choices, it’s easier to leap.

When I work with leaders who show a trend of procrastination, we literally pull out a piece of paper and do a T-graph: the benefits of not acting versus the benefits of acting. In most cases, not acting means not ready. But ready is an emotional state, not a rational one.

The best way to remove the status quo bias, after narrowing options, is to map out a plan for how you will handle the reactions—not just the actions:

• When the project goes off the rails, who can help?

• When recruitment doesn’t generate the lead, how will you improve it?

• When the team doesn’t engage this time, how can you get them on board next time?

The big win is the second try. It gets easier to leap into the cold water of business growth because you’ve learned to overcome your fears and can enjoy the thrilling benefits of increased circulation in your business.

Just like the lake, the shock of the leap is temporary, but the exhilaration stays with you, and it increases momentum in your business.

Where in your business are you still standing on the dock, waiting to take the plunge?