Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Decisions are temporary
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
“Don’t make up problems you don’t have yet,” say Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in their book Rework. “But what if…?” “What happens when…?” “Don’t we need to plan for…?” These are not problems until they become real problems, “Most of the things you worry about never happen anyway.”
Decisions are temporary, and “the ability to change course is [a] big advantage. […] So pay attention to today and worry about later when it gets here. Otherwise, you’ll waste energy, time, and money fixating on problems that may never materialize.”
As you start planning a project or a startup, keep in mind that the decisions you make don’t need to last forever. “It’s easy to shoot down good ideas, interesting policies, or worthwhile experiments by assuming that whatever you decide now needs to work for years on end. It’s just not so [especially for nimble projects and businesses]. If circumstances change, your decisions can change.”
As a child, my mom always told me that it was OK to change my mind after I had tried and given something my best. Today’s idea is the grown-up and business version of that philosophy. Recognize that the decisions you make today are the best ones you can make based on the information you have and the tools and resources at your disposal. If times and circumstances change in the future, trust that you will make the best decision(s) then for you/your team/your business, even if they involve changing everything that you had decided previously.
“If you never change your mind, why have one?” – Edward de Bono
ACTION
TODAY: Is there something bugging you about a decision/policy/procedure that was made a long time ago and that has continued “just because it’s always been that way” but is no longer working for you? Make a new decision that will make it better to adapt to your current circumstances.
FUTURE: Keep in mind the importance of making decisions that go with the times, circumstances, and foreseeable future. Don’t be afraid of making new decisions, if they don’t work out, you can always revert to the previous one—but it’s worth trying out, as you may be pleasantly surprised by the circumstances that the new decisions bring. This reminds me of an old business joke: The CFO and the CEO are talking about making a decision to train the employees. The CFO asks, “But what if we train them, and they leave?” To which the CEO responds, “Yes, but what if we don’t train them, and they stay?”
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