“A bias for action” – this has become a buzz-phrase I’ve noticed lately, and it makes my skin crawl the same way as when some one uses the word “irregardless”. This is the curse of several years of studying English at University.
I’ll be the first guy to encourage people to actually get things done, but if I’m going to have a bias for something, I’d prefer it be a bias for thinking. Simply put, any action you take that is not preceded by some thinking is a waste of time that will ultimately cost you much more time in the long run.
In many situations, the thinking involved need be brief. Unless you’re planning a moon landing, the amount of time writing and refining plans quickly hits diminishing returns. To spend even a few minutes thinking about something, and perhaps handwriting one page on what you are trying to achieve, the benefits, risks, and involvement required from others will save you a huge amount of time in the long run.
Here are some of my favorite business moments that demonstrated a bias for action, and an absence of thinking:
New Coke: Turns out people liked the old coke better, and the company spent millions to undo their action
Moving Jay Leno from the Tonight Show: NBC had a problem as to what to do with Conan O’Brien, but didn’t think too long about any of these decisions. Oh well… what’s $40 million between friends?
Ford Motor Company and the Pinto: It seems it was cheaper to pay wrongful death suits than it was to recall the exploding Pinto. Apparently the guys running Ford at the time had the Wizard of Oz trifecta: No brains, no heart, no courage.
US IRS and tax evaders: The US Revenue Service has decided recently to go after tax evaders in Canada and the UK. Newsflash: people looking to evade taxes don’t move to higher tax jurisdictions that have comprehensive tax treaties with the United States. If any thought had been put into this, they would realize the housewife who moved to Canada as a child probably isn’t as promising a source of revenue as the corporate executive that moved to Grand Cayman.
Think, then act. You’d be surprised how well it works.