Massive imperfect action

Yesterday, as I was researching how to start a particular project, I came across the phrase: take massive imperfect action. It hit me hard. It was not the first time I heard such a thing, but within that context, it gave me an aha moment.

A lot of times, we get suddenly pumped by a new idea, we start envisioning the rewards we may receive once we bring it into fruition, we draft plans and strategies while listing stakeholders and logistics. Then, we stop. Well, the poignant fact is, we obviously don’t have everything in place to launch an attack that guarantees a glorifying victory. Why should we bother now? Isn’t it the smarter thing to do to save up our finite energy for the time when we feel more ready? Or, maybe we can do this. We just need to first break down the daunting task in front of us into incremental and implementable changes over a realistic timeline. Once we have created a clear and complete roadmap, we can then start checking the boxes one after the other like taking a walk in the park, which will lead us to the realization of our ambition, eventually, right? 

Hmm, let’s put our feet back on the ground for a second. However sensible this approach may appear at first glance, it is a universally proven b-i-g f-a-t l-i-e. It is a lie we feed ourselves for the sake of self-protection and at the same time self-destruction. It is an easy way out, period. Almost invariably, after acknowledging the hostility of our circumstances (our lack of resources or capabilities for instance), we don’t take a step further. We throw a last look at the sexy bullet points and flying arrows, close the notebook, stand up from our chair, and put it high up on the shelf. We think to ourselves “well, that was productive” and we determinedly say to ourselves “one day…”. The next thing we know, we are in our sweat pants and binge-watching Netflix while shoving Tortilla chips in our face, all complacent with the fierce brainstorming session we conducted earlier that day, which after a night of sleep turns into some laughable BS in our eyes and gets thrown out of the window. 

The truth is, it is easy to imagine a magnificent castle in our head. We have all seen one of those in Disney movies. We can just crop Cinderella out of the royal ball and paste our own head right on the prince’s shoulder (perhaps not the best choice in this time of social distancing). In reality, it is even difficult to dig the first hole. That is why start-up recruiters love using the phrase “get your hands dirty”. Building something from scratch requires real work, in other words, nasty and strenuous physical labor. We can’t expect our perfect blueprint to do the magic for us. At some point, after all the talks, we will need to roll up our sleeves and start digging the hole, one shovel at a time. The sooner we start, the earlier we learn how to do the tasks. Let's not be surprised when our old friend Failure shows up and grabs us by the arm. Instead, let's give him a nod and redirect our focus back to our next move. And don't think about the after-work beer already. Remember, coffee is for closers only.

When you catch yourself stuck in your head, repeat these three words: massive, imperfect, action.