A Sense of Urgency Can Be a Liability
Many of the entrepreneurs I know have a strong sense of urgency.
It makes sense.
It’s how they will entire businesses into existence.
But as the business gets more complex, that sense of urgency can become a liability.
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When a company has a problem, it can feel like it needs to be fixed urgently. Like NOW.
When the people involved become emotional, a problem can quickly escalate into a crisis.
At least, that’s how it feels.
But in reality, waiting a few minutes, a few days, or a few weeks, usually doesn’t make the problem any worse.
In some cases, the problem ends up solving itself.
Of course, there are exceptions. Sometimes, you will have to make a decision with your back against the wall. (The pandemic comes to mind.)
Most, of the time, though, your back isn’t against the wall.
It only feels that way.
When a problem arises, cooler heads usually prevail.
The coolest one should be yours.
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Acting quickly is relative.
Most decisions in business are not ones that need to be made in the next 30 minutes.
It’s high emotion and high stakes that make them feel that way.
But when you’re freaking out, you’re not thinking rationally.
And as a leader, your emotional tenor determines how the whole team will feel.
Be the calmest person in the room, not the most frantic.
You’ll get a better response from everyone around you.
You’ll feel better, too.
I mean it. Literally take deep breaths and try to physically relax as much as possible.
There’s not much benefit in the other approach.
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But Eric, don’t you preach to hire slowly and fire quickly?
Yes, I do. But slowly and quickly are relative.
Hire slowly means don’t panic hire. It means don’t throw a body at a problem instead of figuring out what the root cause of the problem actually is.
It doesn’t actually mean to drag out your recruiting process for months on end. You won’t get the top talent that way.
The same goes for fire quickly. It means don’t leave somebody in place for years who is in the wrong seat. If there’s severe misconduct involved, you should probably fire them on the spot.
If it’s an overall performance issue, take the time to get your ducks in a row. This may take a few weeks or as long as a quarter. Pick a date. The planning will be worth it.
3-4 days, or 3-4 weeks, is not slow in the pace of business. If you’re making big decisions, take the time you need to make them well.
Be decisive. Take action. But don’t rush.
You’ve got this.
