Flexibility is good, right?
Well, that depends.
Flexibility is always great if you’re a yoga instructor mastering a difficult pose. But in business, flexibility isn’t always the answer. Having too many options can create overanalysis paralysis. This fun term means you’re so overwhelmed with options, you freeze and don’t do anything. And if you never actually do anything, you won’t ever make any ground on your goals. In other words, you’ll fail.
The key to being effectively flexible is to set firm goals but stay agile along your way to reach those goals. Here are three steps in the decision matrix to determine how much flexibility you want.
1.) Understand The Underlying Problem – What are you trying to solve in the first place? If you’re compromising your long term business goals, it’s time to reassess. Always stick to your achieving your goals, but be flexible with how to achieve them. Life and business aren’t always black and white so when there is a grey area, take a step back and identify the core problem.
2.) Narrow Your Options – Too many options limits efficiency. Once you define what your business truly needs, choose the top routes that will take you there. With your options narrowed down to 2 or 3, instead of 5 or 6, you can visualize your business embarking on each route and clearly determine the best option.
3.) Take Action – Use the takeaways from step one and two, then make decisions and move forward. Any and all progress made in business comes from hard work. Even when you’re faced with risky outcomes, your business will never grow unless you take action.
Possessing some flexibility allows you to take the curve balls life throws at you in stride, but too much flexibility makes forward motion an impossibility. Growing in your ability to discern the core issue(s), narrowing in on some good solutions, and taking action will help you become a more effective business leader. As you practice these things you’ll become adept in discerning the right amount of flexibility a situation calls for.