When I was a kid, there was a boy at the top of our street who might have drunk Windolene. The thick pink cream window cleaner.
At least, that’s what his parents thought.
The problem was, he’d also been eating pink candy rock.
If you remember Windolene, you’ll know it really was bright pink.
There he was, a distressed 4-year-old, mouth covered in pink and his parents were asking us (average age seven) if we’d seen him drinking Windolene?
Even at seven, I remember thinking: why don’t they just take him to hospital?
Even I knew that if there’s a chance your kid has swallowed cleaning fluid, you don’t debate, you act.
That was 1974.
Funny thing is, 51 years later, ‘we’ are still at it.
We see a problem and spend ages trying to work out if it’s really a problem.
We wait for more information, more data, more confirmation.
We form committees, schedule meetings, write reports and check it on the Google
All the while, the issue sits there, pink-mouthed and waiting.
It happens in business.
You spot a customer complaint trend but tell yourself, ‘Let’s wait and see if it continues.’
A team member seems unhappy, and you think, ‘Maybe they’re just having a bad week.’
Or your gut screams something’s wrong, but you stay silent because you’re not 100% sure.
Truth bomb 💣 You’ll never have all the facts.
But there are many times when you have to act on what you think might be true.
Because waiting to be certain can be far riskier than taking action.
A simple way to check yourself:
Ask three quick questions:
1 What’s the risk of doing nothing?
2 What is my intuition saying?
2 What’s the smallest safe action I can take right now?
3.5 What would seven-year-old me do?
Acting doesn’t always guarantee success, but waiting rarely guarantees safety.
Be Brilliant!
MIchael
For the record, he was fine. It was candy rock.
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