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Bias For Clarity

Bias for action. Gets things done. Go-getter. Traits companies big and small look for. And for good reason, you're being hired to do things! However, action is a secondary step that often overshadows the primary step, direction.   Clear direction is the foundation that enables our actions to takeoff. Without it, we're stuck in the mud.  Striving for clarity is an underrated skill. Having the courage to ask ( seemingly ) obvious questions, and to check in, making sure we're all on the same page. "O bvious " questions are a low risk, high reward way to add value. At worst, you'll add confidence to our actions. At best, you discover a misalignment that saves us from a dead-end.  The more people, the more clear we need to be. The bigger the initiative, the bigger the risk of reaching the finish line, only to realize expectations were off.  Success is always uncertain. But we can be certain about what we want and what everyone's job is. Things that can be clea

Quality Vs. Speed: Decision Making Framing


Data is endless. Perfect information is not feasible. The pursuit will only lead to analysis paralysis. At the same time, you don't want to mindlessly act without facts. 

Taking too long to act and acting without sufficient preparation, both lead to wasted time and resources. To decide whether to optimize for decision quality or speed, it's helpful to frame the situation. 

Decisions can be one-way doors or two-way doors. 

One-way doors are rare. These are entrance-only decisions where reversing course is very difficult. Given the commitment, you'll want to gather enough information to maximize your decision quality (pre-action learning). 

Two-way doors are more common. They allow for easy entrance and exit. These decisions can be quickly undone if they turn out wrong. Optimize for speed (and post-action learning). It's much better to go through the door and see what's there than waiting at the doorstep. Don't like what's on the other side? Take your learnings and simply moonwalk out of there. Here you'll learn more by doing.


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