As individuals, we like to be reassured that we’re making the right decision. Most of the time we don’t need the exact plan, but some relevant information. Seth Godin points out that, in many instances, we over-rely on the exact road map when in fact there is likely a problem and solution that is close enough:
The search for the exact case study or the exact prescription is the work of the resistance, a clever way to stay safe, to protect yourself from your boss or your self-talk. If you wait for the perfect map before departing on your journey, you’ll never have to leave.
It’s also true, though, that you have never once had to solve a problem that is exactly different from what’s gone down before. We’d like to romanticize our problems as unique, as the one and only perfectly difficult situation that is the result of a confluence of unrepeatable, unique causes.
Think of your Google searches. There may not be someone with your exact same symptoms, but you’ll probably get a good idea of what you’re feeling. Maybe nobody has posted about how to make your specific VCR (still using VHS, really?!) stop blinking 12:00, but somebody may have shared how they fixed theirs (got a DVD player).
In business, we often obsess even more over proof before making the decision and beginning a project. To that, Godin says:
Your problem is your problem, and it is like no other. But it’s close enough to those that came before, close enough to the ones you’ve studied, that it probably pays to stop stalling and take the leap.
The good news? There are companies and professionals out there who know enough of the answer to help.
Sources:
Seth Godin
