But more significant problems require more thinking time for the best solutions to arise. Many of the smaller, day-to-day issues can be addressed in the typical meeting fashion. And of course, the meeting end time is fixed, because everyone has another meeting to run off to, where a similar process is likely repeated.īy the way, it is also baffling how rarely there is an advanced agenda or stated purpose for these sessions, denying those attending the opportunity to do some preliminary thinking about the topic, even if they wanted to. Despite the fact that the problem has had months to fester, the expectation is the problem must be solved before the meeting ends. People put forth the first ideas that pop into their mind, and the best of those, or some combination, is selected. I have been part of meetings where a rather sizable problem is teed up and a solution is expected in the following fifteen minutes or so. Rather than reactively responding to anything that crosses their plates, they make thoughtful decisions to determine those they will address and those they won’t.Īnother example is meetings. Interestingly enough, there are other teams who have decided to stop the fire drill madness by taking time to examine and understand which are vital and which are not. They constantly complain that since it comes from headquarters (or some other omnipotent source), they have no choice. Yet there are groups who will cancel customer meetings or other meaningful work to tend to these drills, regardless of their importance. Some of these are legitimate and need to be completed in the moment. We have come across far too many cases where workers are advised by their bosses not to put much time or effort into them, but to just get them done as quickly as possible. One of those is the all too frequent fire drill, that urgent request that pops up at the last minute requiring attention right now. There are common things we see that make us wonder. To what extent do you believe thinking is as valued as acting in your organization? Is thoughtfulness an attribute for which the very best leaders are known or admired? Does it even get mentioned as something of value? The obvious answer is, of course, thinking is valued, but is that really what you see? Workplace Examples So here is a question for you to think about. The best decisions are made with an appropriate balance of thinking and action. On the other hand, it is just as ruinous to get caught up in endless analysis, thus deferring or avoiding decisions that must be made quickly. Even in our overworked, no time for anything world, it is unconscionable to take a position that there is no time to think. Opponents of ready, fire, aim will also contend that sometimes the decision not to act in the moment is the best thing to do.Īs you might suspect, the best answer lies somewhere in the middle. Rather than taking the appropriate time to think something through, their people take immediate actions that are too often based on wrong assumptions or previous experiences that may not apply to the circumstances at hand. Others will say ready, fire, aim is the reason organizations get into trouble. These advocates would rather “do something, even if it is wrong,” than get trapped in analysis paralysis, that tendency to study something to death. They continue to say that since people can never have all of the information needed to make totally risk-free decisions, they need to act quickly, learn from those actions, and then be ready to implement course corrections as problems arise. They make the case that many organizations get too bogged down by over-analyzing every little detail. Like everything, it has its good side and its bad.Īdvocates of ready, fire, aim cite how it promotes a bias for action. This phrase may have a lot of different definitions, but for the purposes of this discussion, it refers to taking immediate action, including simply reacting to something, before thinking it through very thoroughly. What do you think about that? Is ready, fire, aim, the best strategy for success? Over time, I have become a bit surprised at the number of people who are almost boasting about being part of a ready, fire, aim culture. Ever heard the expression, “ready, fire, aim?” I frequently hear people use those words to describe how their organizations operate.
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