Allow me to share some valuable insight I’ve gained about the process of decision making and subsequent execution. It comes from an unlikely source: frogs. Before you ignore this seemly unintelligent source, I urge you not to throw the baby out with the swamp water. Open your mind, take a moment and humor yourself…
It’s been said that if you take a frog, and place it in cool water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will literally boil to death before it would jump out of the pot of steaming water. But, take a frog and throw it into a pot of boiling water, that frog will instantly jump out.
Like the frog, our survival instincts are more likely triggered by sudden changes than subtle ones. How is the water temperature where you’re sitting? Is it comfortable? Or have you simply adapted to it? What subtle changes are you ignoring?
How frequently do you monitor trends and their potential effects on your business? If you don’t, how likely will you be to make a timely response? A thorough strategic planning process can help to shine a light on subtle changes that potentially threaten prosperity.
There are five frogs sitting on a floating log.
Three decide to jump off.
How many are left on the log?
There is a critical difference between deciding and actually jumping.
Decisions are nice. Vacillation can be perilous. Execution is essential. Decisions made without accountability and commitment to target dates can leave you sitting on a drifting log that is approaching the falls. What decisions have been on your agenda for over six months? Has frog-like behavior been getting in the way?
