Attention All Business Leaders: Remember to Think BEFORE You Act

Turn on the T.V. or flip through the pages of any newspaper and youre sure to see the latest news about the infamous Martha Stewart trial. Whether she is found guilty of the accusations or not, we can all learn a valuable lesson from Stewarts situation: Remember to think before you act.

(PRWEB) February 12, 2004 --Turn on the T.V. or flip through the pages of any newspaper and youre sure to see the latest news about the infamous Martha Stewart trial. Whether she is found guilty of the accusations or not, we can all learn a valuable lesson from Stewarts situation: Remember to think before you act.

Business Performance Expert Pamela Harper calls it the Act Now, Think Later" syndrome. When faced with a problem or challenge, our first instinct is usually to resolve it as quickly as possible," says Harper. But all too often, we act before thinking things through."

Just like Martha Stewart, business leaders often get information and immediately act on it without thinking it through. By the time they sit down and look at all the facts, it is too late and they are forced to deal with the consequences of their hasty decision. Remember, for every fact you receive, you are probably missing or overlooking several more," Harper asserts. Neglecting these facts can put leaders in a difficult situation and cause even greater problems than what they began with."

Leaders often think, If the decision is wrong, we can always fix problems later," but as were seeing in the case of Martha Stewart and her stockbrokers, fixing problems caused by unsuccessful strategies frequently takes far more time and resources than we would like.

As business leaders seek to advance their companies, they will undoubtedly face a crisis at some point in time; however, even when faced with a crisis, adopting an Act Now, Think Later" approach puts companies at greater risk of having strategic gridlock" build beyond control. The greater the risk, the more critical it is to efficiently and effectively uncover assumptions about organizational reality as youre thinking through and planning your actions. Even in the face of emergencies, taking just a moment to test your assumptions about the situation can help you more effectively choose a course of action.

Pamela Harper is an internationally known consultant and speaker and is the founder and president of Business Advancement, Inc. Since 1991, BAI has helped leaders of entrepreneurial, middle market and Fortune 500 Companies transform their business strategies into high performance results.

Act Now, Think Later" is just one of seven roadblocks Harper identifies that keep businesses from advancing the way they should. You can read more about these roadblocks and learn how to prevent strategic gridlock" within your organization in her book, Preventing Strategic Gridlock®: Leading Over, Under & Around Organizational Jams to Achieve High Performance Results.

For more information, or to obtain a review copy, please call 1-866-372-2636 or send an e-mail to marketing@cameopublications.com.
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