Analyze No More!
At Englin Consulting, we’re lucky. We work with extraordinarily smart and talented people who bring those assets to bear to make the world a better place. We love our clients and the work we get to do with them.
One thing about working with extraordinarily smart people: we’re often helping them and their teams work through “analysis paralysis” – thinking and talking something through to the extent that it prevents actually doing much of anything. We’ve learned a trick or two (or three, presented below) that seem to help. So, without further thought or conversation, this week’s Three Things: working past analysis paralysis.
1) Clearly articulate the consequences of inaction. Spend a few more minutes talking, but not about what you need to do. Talk for a bit about what happens if you’re unable to push through and take action. What if you don’t launch that new campaign? What if you don’t revise the website content? What if you don’t head out with clear new messages in your press releases? Set a specific period of time to walk through the consequences of analysis paralysis, voice the fears driving the analysis. Then post the notes somewhere in the room/on the wiki/in an email. Refer back to it when you’re unable to make a decision, and ask – are the consequences of getting this wrong worse than the consequences of inaction?
2) Commit to testing. Analysis paralysis is often fear of the known – what will happen if we do whatever we’re contemplating? What if it’s irrevocably bad? Acknowledge that bad is a possibility, commit to testing the possibility, and stay open to having to change course. We live in crazy fast-paced times and the odds are good that even if you make a perfect decision now, you’ll have to revisit it before you know it. Approach decisions about action with a commitment to test first and decide based on results. Then action isn’t a result of guesses or even good instincts; it’s a result of data.
3) Be comfortable with failure. No matter how well analyzed, tested, and discussed, sometimes things fail. Clay Shirky, one of the gurus of modern organizing and communication, has famously suggested folks should “Fail informatively – Fail like crazy.” Have contingencies, be prepared to get up, dust off, learn from the experience, and go again. Part of this comfort is nailing down the consequences of failure. What if the new PR and messaging push doesn’t change the conversation in the media? What if it irritates our friends, even though they said it wouldn’t? What if nobody pays attention to our foray into social media and we’re friendless? What then? Sketch out the consequences, internal and external, so the possibilities are neither as scary nor as daunting should they come to pass.
Changing the world is serious business, and we love that our clients take it so seriously. We love that they analyze and discuss and make informed, well-thought decisions. We also love it when they act – and more often than not, they succeed. We hope these three ideas can help you move your team from analysis to action.