subject: Does Your Business Suffer From "analysis Paralysis"? [print this page] I spent most of yesterday afternoon meeting with two ambitious, smart businessmen who are in a growth industry. They want to expand their business, hire new salespeople, and really take advantage of the opportunities that exist in their industry.
The funny part of this was that the whole time I was meeting with them, I had this strange feeling that I had been there before. It was like de'ja'vu, all over again. But then I realized, I had been there before. We had the exact same meeting the year before.
For all their ambition and intelligence, these two guys have serious mental blocks when it comes to growing their business. One of them has spent the entire past year "building a business model". The other is so caught up in the minutia of the business operations that it limits his sales, even though he has the ability, connections, and lead flow to instantly double his sales. He spends much of his time "ordering the parts to do the jobs", a task he could easily assign to an admin person.
These men suffer from "analysis paralysis". Their fear of the unknown keeps them from making the changes and taking the actions that they know will cause their business to grow. They have done the projections, modeled the business, and know that their plan could work.
Frustrated, I finally decided to speak my mind and give them the cure, the magic pill that makes this business illness go away instantly. That pill is called "Action". They have to start IMPLEMENTING their plan.
I love the story of Lee Iacocca, the former CEO of Chrysler. Lee took over Chrysler when it was in terrible financial condition. Lee decided that he wanted to add a convertible to the car line. Did he call in a bunch of engineers who would take a few years to come up with a design? Did he order the marketing department to do some "focus groups"? No, he simply went down to the assembly line and had one of the workers cut the roof off of one of the cars. Instantly, the Chrysler Le Baron convertible was born.
Here's the lesson: No plan is ever going to be perfect. There never will be a time when all the paperwork and systems are in place and the stars are perfectly aligned. Successful people make decisions, take action, and do what it takes to make those decisions correct. You simply have to start with what you got and the changes, improvements and revisions will happen as you move along.
