"Time is of the essence" but Timing is even more essential for success
Being at the right place at the right time have provided many with success. For the less lucky in life, a healthy dose of hard work, blood and sweat and resolve may be the way there. And there are the few individuals blessed with natural ability, aptitude, or the right gift. For them, success comes almost naturally. At every dinner, lunch or coffee meeting someone inevitably offers up a great idea. As idle chatter, that is great, because we all know what happens without action or follow-up. This is when the "Do'ers" among us clench their teeth, contort our face into a cynical emoji and mumble under our breath - "talkers". What if there is more to it?
Time - one of the lesser cousins in our four-dimensional universe has been around for, ages (pun fully intended). Since being able to count, mankind has quantified this dimension using everything from sundials to atomic clocks. But beyond its quantification, what have we done to understand this critical dimension as it makes or breaks empires, shape lives, and determines our very health and happiness?
A first derivative of time, is timing -- the "When" of execution. As with any wisdom, it takes time to learn sequencing and trigger; when to do what. As the surfer selects his wave, the teenager times his passionate plea for the car keys, or the strategist who launches an acquisition play, timing is often missed as a determinant of success. And when aligned, everything seemingly falls into place effortlessly. Let's look at how events, readiness, sequencing and trigger inter-play.
What seems like common sense, sometimes escapes even the most sensible folks. Let's look at the smaller moving parts that make up this concept. It may inspire or trigger reflection in your every-day efforts.
Events - are simply a breakdown of quantifiable efforts with definable outcomes. What makes a task atomic has much to do with individual or resources involved, discrete outcomes, and timeline dependence or independence. Collectively, each task contributes to a greater effort.
Readiness - knowing that you have the capabilities and capacities to complete tasks ensures readiness in a nutshell. Garbage-in, garbage-out teaches us that if we lack either the know-how (capability) or resources (capacity) we are doomed to a mediocre output at best. How do you know if your resource or team is ready? Don't ask. Test!
Sequencing - is oh so very important. Just as rowers stroke in unison, while chefs add ingredients based on cook time (while observing the course at each table), recognizing the order, interdependence and success drivers for each task is imperative. Instead of just setting everything loose to happen at a random pace -- ask the question "what's next, why now, and how long".
Trigger - is knowing when to start, and end, a sequence. With plans defined, sequenced and readiness verified, this last piece of the puzzle is to recognize the optimal moment to start. For this we look beyond the tasks to external factors that enhance or dampen our chance of success. In business, this may be political climate, supply of capital, but mostly it is your management team's mood. But when it is time to start -- be crystal clear with instructions and expectations. The window of opportunity may only come around once in a lifetime; so waaaait for it, recognize it, and crush it.
Ideas are great and execution is important. But being aware of your window, executing within that time frame will greatly amplify your chance of success. In our sometimes highly competitive, ultra accelerated, winner takes all arena, there are no second place prizes. Use the one dimension often missed by many - Timing.