One of the vexing problems most, if not all, large organizations face is “analysis paralysis” — the tendency to over-analyze and over-think a situation, resulting in no action being taken.

It’s also one of the main reasons why startups (YOU!) consistently kick incumbents asses.

But if you’re not careful, the same problem can creep into your own organization — even when you’re small. And for you, the problem can be deadly, as you simply don’t have the resources and multiple revenue streams that well-established companies have.

The credo you should live by is:

A good decision made quickly is far better than a great decision made slowly.

Speed is often your only advantage in a startup.

Simply given your sheer size (or lack thereof), your nimbleness, your grit, your willingness to do what it takes to get stuff done – you can easily outcompete even some of the biggest, baddest mega-companies in the world.

You’re not smarter, better-funded, have better market access or lots of other things than your well-established competitors. But while they are still trying to figure out who the right people are to even get the committee started to eventually figure out if they should build “the thing”, you and your buddy have already done it.

Speed is every startup’s superpower.

But beware: It can become your Kryptonite as well.

When you lack direction and try to make up for it with sheer speed. When you congratulate yourself that you pushed to production 5 times last week – and yet each revision didn’t actually matter to your customers.

When you don’t stop every once in a while, reassess the terrain, learn from your actions and develop a plan for the future: Then speed will become Kryptonite.

And before someone calls me out on this – when you run it’s not about raw speed. It’s about the measured approach: when you race you need to know when to push, when to back off, where on the course you focus your energy for a decisive win over your competitors.

Would you agree? Let me know in the comment section below.

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