The Fixed Idea

The idea is fixed in our minds. We undertake no more reviews and accept no more challenges. It has become a Truth.

Other ideas, which may be worthy, are not considered because our idea is the one we have adopted and we fear that if we abandon it we will enter a swamp of uncertainty.

There is no small amount of wisdom in that attitude. After a while, we have to take action. It is hard enough to rally a team to one course of action and impossible to do so for two or twenty.

There are moments when further inquiry is dangerous. After all, there is always more information to discover and to analyze. The trick is knowing the proper boundary - and balance - between analysis and action. That is difficult because so many of us are eager to draw it at the wrong spot. How do we know when we are near the correct boundary? It depends upon the nature of the decision.

Easily reversible decisions can leave little room for analysis.

Decisions that are difficult or impossible to reverse should leave as much room as possible for analysis. There still comes a point when the question must be asked: Is further analysis becoming as dangerous or more dangerous than action?

In order to make that decision, a thorough knowledge of history is needed. Unfortunately, that knowledge is often missing. People don't like to study the "minutes" of previous meetings.