When I did my officer training in the Army our instructors drummed into us the importance of making a plan. Any plan, just have one, engage your people to take action (or die) and alter the plan as you roll it out if needed. I didn’t know it at the time but it made us leaders of action. We had the confidence to make a decision fast, with the best information available and then to change it if it was not going to work or if the situation changed.
It turns out that this skill is a critical on in business. Too often no clear decisions are made, there is a fear of failure (or getting it wrong) and beyond a lot of discussion nothing happens. I often find myself listening less to the words and watching the actions being taken because this is the important bit. Talk – Action = Shit
