There’s been a lot of talk about fear at this year’s South by Southwest conference. All the conversations seem to divide into two categories: business decisions based on fear and fear holding you back from making decisions.
As the speakers at Bordering Incest: Turning Your Company into a Family pointed out and several people tweeted, “Every decision is made in love or fear. Decisions make in fear are bad for business.” (Disclaimer: I didn’t attend this session in person. I followed the #borderingincestsxsw. Great takeaways.) Most often fear is based in lack of knowledge or understanding. Take time to research the issue before jumping to conclusions. Empower your co-workers and team members to take a few minutes, step back and think or research before coming to a conclusion. Obviously this won’t work in all environments or for all projects, but just recognizing you’re making a decision based on fear can lead to better decisions.
Very brilliant people have often recited the mantra that not making a decision IS making a decision. We all live in a bubble of perfectionism. We want our work like and our projects and our life to be perfect. The sooner we all accept that perfectionism keeps us from achieving near perfect lives, the better.