"Gut" or Plan?
The “Action
Imperative” – the need to “do something” - is something that we will all have
experienced. Our society demands
“action”, Winston Churchill’s catchphrase in WWII was “Action this day!”. If one is not see to react immediately to
various events or stimuli, one is considered lacking in initiative or drive.
When our “action” works out well, we get the glory; when it
doesn't, we either try to forget it or get criticised by others.
Startups and corporate projects are
fertile grounds for “action”. The new
excites us and can even act as a drug (after all, we’re “doing
something”). This is why one can
see many busy (but few productive) people in the workplace.
Because of the need for “action”,
we face the “I haven’t got time…” syndrome.
We all have multiple tasks to carry out, hundreds of emails to answer,
meetings, conference calls… and often “no time to think”. As a result, things
may not receive the attention or consideration that is needed to avoid
potentially serious consequences.
A recent example is the decision to
require passengers to pack their laptops in check-in baggage as terrorists were
supposedly manufacturing explosive devices designed to look like laptops. The rationale behind the decision was
perceived by safety experts as flawed because laptops run on lithium-ion or nickel-metal
hydride batteries which can overheat. If
such a device catches fire in an aircraft cabin at 35,000 feet, cabin crew can
do something about it. If it’s in the
cargo hold where no one can get at it, catastrophe can be the result. In the end, the ruling was rescinded, with
passengers now required to take laptops out at airport security checks and turn
them on to prove they work.
Technology has only served to
exacerbate the problem, with people expected to be “online” 24/7. When I first began my professional career,
email didn’t exist, so communication was by letter and memo. These had to be thought out and (perhaps)
dictated, allowing additional time to think.
There is an expectation amongst some that emails should be answered
immediately.
The result of this is that,
instead of considered responses, we end up relying on that part of our brain (the
“limbic” part) that we use when under stress – the part that works on emotion
(“gut”) rather than thinking things through.
Some call this the “fight or flight” response. When Cro-Magnon man was a hunter-gatherer,
this instinct served him well, and it still has its uses in certain situations
in the modern world. However, if a
“fight” reaction occurs at the wrong moment in the business world (and one only
has to look at the behaviour of certain world leaders for examples…), this can
have disastrous consequences.
The conclusion? We need to have a clear understanding of our
business environment and its attendant risks.
For this, we need to think. Thinking finds new (and possibly better)
solution, but requires time. If we
understand our environment, we have that extra time to think things through,
even if there remains a degree of uncertainty.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 08:45
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