Identify Your Must-Haves Before Exploring Alternatives

Anytime you need to make a big change, it's always good to come up with possible alternatives.

That said, a step that sometimes gets skipped is to document what the absolute must-haves are for an alternative to be considered.

More often than you might imagine, the must-haves are not well known to all.

For example, they may reflect a reality that is only well understood by those in one functional area. Perhaps Sales needs alternatives that don’t require hiring new sales talent, because the lead time to do so is longer than the business has to move the needle on revenue growth.

Or perhaps Operations requires that all alternatives ensure at least a 90% utilization rate of production capabilities, because below that level, the business cannot be profitable.

By bringing all your must-haves out into the open, you can better understand the boundaries of what’s possible.

In contrast, when you skip this step, you allow unfeasible alternatives to persist for too long. Your attention is diverted by options that seem logical, but in reality are never going to work.

The next time you're contemplating a significant change, resist the urge to jump straight to brainstorming alternatives. Instead, gather your key stakeholders and ask them this critical question: "What absolutely must be true for any solution we consider?"

Document these non-negotiables clearly, and let them guide your exploration of possibilities.

This simple shift in approach—starting with constraints rather than possibilities—will save you countless hours pursuing dead-end options and help you arrive at viable solutions much faster.

Remember that understanding your limitations isn't about restricting creativity—it's about channeling it in the most productive direction possible.

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I help successful leaders and their teams agree on what needs to change and how to make it happen. I am the author of?Fearless?Growth and?The Agility Advantage.?

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