Do or Do Not, There is No Try

In one of the early Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, the ancient master  Yoda replies to his young apprentice Luke, who says, “I’ll try”. Yoda responds with the classic phrase;

Do or do not, there is no try.

You may or may not be a big fan of that movie series, but consider for a moment how relevant that line is for our own world and the business community.

Time and again, we are exposed to employees that will sit, and wait, and ponder, and think….. all the while just putting off what they could have done hours ago. While this is a problem, perhaps it is only a symptom of another problem.

What can be the cause of people procrastinating and not doing the task at hand?

Production worldwide is hampered by this lack of urgency to move on. Perhaps it is in the culture of a country? Maybe it is inherent in the personality of the individuals? Regardless, the mere existence of this lack of willingness to get-with-it-now, is killing the productivity of most corporations and businesses.

As business leaders, the culture within the company should be one of reducing the punishment and stigma associated with making a mistake. Fear is likely the cause of inaction, and creating a safe environment to err in, can likely allow employees to move faster when making a decision.

Of course, there are those that simply can’t move faster, and for them perhaps training, executive coaching, or other developmental activities is in order. Inaction and hesitation are signs that a business leader must take seriously. The very survival of the business and its public image hang in the balance.

See this blog and many others on performance management, leadership, executive coaching, organizational learning, and more Human Resources topics at Best Practice Institute and the Leadership and Management blog here.