The benefits and drawbacks of having a bias for action

I was recently told that a strength of mine was:

“…a stronger bias for action than anyone I’ve met.”

Interesting. That also happens to be my biggest weakness.

As business owners and a-type executives, we:

- Are decisive
- Move quickly
- Get shit done

Many, many, many times this has served me well.

It helped me be first to market in the first business I started and sold.

It helped me lead the turnaround of businesses and several business units.

It helped me tackle grad school, while running a business, with an 18 mo. old and pregnant wife.

But…

The bias to DO can also lead to:

- Not planning thoroughly enough
- Having to change course more than necessary
- Whiplash and exhaustion with supporting teams

There’s nothing wrong with having a bias towards action.

So long as it is balanced with taking time to...

STOP long enough to PLAN actions strategically.

Building a strategy to align execution is like sharpening the knife before cutting.

It allows us to FULLY leverage that bias towards action.

And ensures we are PRODUCTIVE, not just ACTIVE.