Hurry Up And Fail

How many times have you watched an NFL wide-out drop an easy catch, just before turning upfield for a long gain? And, there's the NHL all-star positioned right in front of the net for an easy one-timer, instead fanning on the shot. It happens because even talented athletes, not to mention actors or CFOs who take their eye off the object, sometimes with disastrous results. But it only explains what happens, not why. The cause, of course, is that momentary gap in concentration; a fraction of a second and the connection is lost. The player is already thinking about running with the ball or ramming the puck home, completely forgetting about gaining control. You see it every Sunday, or on Monday morning during an intense planning meeting.

How many times have we felt an almost overwhelming urge to "get past the planning and on with the action." In any business, especially ours, the affliction of "Let's-get-it-on-itis" can set us up for a head-on collision with failure. Take radio research, for example.

These expensive but often indispensable projects captivate a room full of people on Wednesday, but often already lose some impact equity by Thursday. An impatient leap from research recommendations to an incomplete plan can doom the outcome before the ink is dry.

Conquer the previous first.Failing to fully understand the base objective is masked in rationalization and the siren song of "let's get on with it." Often an associate seeks to sidestep accountability by asking for more time or added data. But this characteristic often simply fuels others' desire to get going; "come on, sure there's some risk, but let's go!"

And often the inexperienced leader may react by saying, "Enough analysis, it's time to move ahead." On this seemingly innocent reaction can turn the fate of an entire format launch, music re-calibration or worse, changing out a morning show.

In past columns we've written about the epic '80s Coca-Cola failure; a marketing case study for all time. Coke believed they had a product problem with their base brand Classic Coke. Months and millions later, American beverage drinkers sorted it out for Coke. For Coca-Cola Corporate it was deliverance. And for students of research and planning it was a case study for the ages; a happy ending to an impending disaster!

We remind associates and colleagues the rule of thumb has it: The larger your list of qualifiers as riders to your plan, the less mastery you hold over your objective. The next time your impatience pulls you away from a strategic or tactical process, or you hear an associate remark "He or she may just not right for the job but we're running out of time," slam on the brakes!

It's better to postpone a win than to design a defeat ahead of schedule.