Why Going All In Might Be the Least Risky Decision You Make
The principle is simple: Effort is required to make things happen.
This might sound simple, but it bears repeating. There is a correlation between effort and results. Not a perfect correlation, but certainly a positive correlation.
And nothing is as powerful as going all in.
If you hedge your bets, you’re probably not ready to take the leap. If you just talk about something and don’t “burn the boats”, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Hence, the title of this article. Whatever the decision is that you’re facing, once you make it you’ve got to go all in.
Entrepreneurs Know This
As a self-made business owner, you know this is true because it was exactly how you got the point of having the successful business you’ve built. You went all in, and a few decades later you were an “overnight” success!
You didn’t make it to where you are today by dipping your toe in the water and hedging your bets. No–you gave yourself no other option, or perhaps you simply had no other option!
You Did it Once.
Is it Time to Do it Again?
Every business owner eventually reaches a fork in the road. Whether it’s to evolve your business and take it in an important new direction.
Perhaps it is time to respond to a competitive landscape change, or to changes in technology?
Or perhaps it’s time to deal with the cancerous employee that is destroying your culture?
Or maybe you're past the evolve part of your business ownership lifecycle and it’s time to open conversations about transition, succession planning or exit strategy and retirement – the path forward requires a decision.
Whatever the next mountain looks like for you: study the scenario, consider your options, and make your decisive move. Tiptoeing around is honestly the riskiest thing you can do. This can lead to paralysis by analysis, and the indecision that will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Change is Constant in Business and Life
Think about your own business for a minute. What was it like a year ago? Five years ago? A decade ago? Is it the same today? The one constant in your business is change. Were you using AI tools in your business a few years ago? Prior to 2020, did you have a remote work policy? You know how to change. Without it you wouldn’t be reading an article written for business owners because you wouldn’t be one anymore.
Recommended Read: Slow Down to Speed Up
So Make Change Happen On Your Terms
But when it comes to big strategic decisions, the longer you’re in business the heavier they feel. It’s not just about evolving your operating model. It’s about making lasting changes that you cannot undo. It can feel easier to “extend and pretend”. Push out the decision, wait and see, pretend it isn’t relevant yet.
You can do this, but you risk that one day the decision will be made for you by circumstances
Meanwhile, if you consciously make the decision and commit to it, YOU and not your circumstances get to decide.
Exiting On Purpose is a Power Move
I’ll leave you with one last thought specifically for those of you avoiding talk of exiting your business.
It’s always better to sell too early than too late. If you sell too early, you might leave money on the table. You can rue your decision to not hold on a little longer as you sit on your balcony overlooking the ocean. Meanwhile, if you sell too late, you might find yourself applying for a job, filing bankruptcy, or worse. This isn’t hyperbole. It’s the plain truth.
There is a cost to postponing these decisions, and an enormous upside to being decisive and going all in.
What’s your next move? Whether it’s growing the business, planning your succession or working out your exit strategy, the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of deciding.
Whatever mountain you’re facing (growth, succession, or exit) you don’t have to climb it alone.
We love to help business owners like you map out your next decisive step with a no obligation conversation that we promise will leave you better than when it started.
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The FieldReady™ Scorecard
The FieldReady™ Scorecard is a 20-point diagnostic across the four areas buyers evaluate first.
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