I thought I was done with this subject last week. But then it struck again, Analysis Paralysis! I am near completion of a deal that is over 4 years in the making, not for me, but for a fortune 100 company. In other words, they’ve been work it this long.
This company has been looking for a solution and had contacted one of our reps back in 2003. They were about to move forward with the implementation but someone convinced them to wait, and ultimately pushed to build the program in-house. It’s the same story I hear time and again, “we can build it in-house for half the cost”.
Yeah, right.
So here I am in a conference call with a handful of representatives from this large company and they are sharing with me how after 4+ years they couldn’t build a good tool and wanted to use ours. This happened for a number of reasons. Reason #1…It’s not what they do! Sure it looks easy, but when you actually set out to do it, reality hits. Reason #2…not enough time. Building a tool takes away from their core business, and that always takes a back seat.
Suppose I wanted a nice wooden baseball bat and I see that Louisville Sluggers cost $29. If I’m not careful I could be talked into buying a piece of lumber, sticking it on a wooden lathe and saving myself ten bucks to make my own. We all know that would be a disaster. Yet somehow in business we don’t always take that same common-sense approach. Instead we waste too much time arguing, waiting and losing money. Isn’t it better to pay a small premium for another’s well invested expertise?
Waiting usually costs more than doing nothing or delay. As one CEO recently said, “After hearing all the facts, make a confident decision, even if you aren’t certain. It’s indecision that is costly”.
–Warren
Absolutely true!!! You know what “THEY” say, more is lost by indecision than even
wrong decision.