In large organizations, we’ve built an entire operating system around the illusion of control.
Standardize first. Align across regions. Minimize risk. Hire consultants. Write the plan. Socialize the plan. Approve the plan.
Then maybe—maybe—we try something.
But here’s the problem: this version of “safe” is often what’s killing progress.
We spend months defining the change before anyone actually experiences the value. We pay millions of $ for PowerPoint decks from people who’ve never operated our business. And we call that risk management.
But maybe the real risk is betting on theories instead of learning from the ground up.
Maybe the risk is losing relevance because we’re moving too slow.
We think trying something new is the risky move—but in many cases, doing nothing is riskier. In today’s market, waiting for certainty can mean you run out of time, not just budget.
So what can we do differently?
1. Stop trying to define the outcome before you’ve experienced the value.
Change doesn’t always need a 12-month roadmap and a 200-slide deck. Let teams experiment in focused, contained environments. Let them feel the shift. Trust that belief grows from experience—not slides.
2. Be skeptical of packaged certainty.
Consultants can bring perspective, but they don’t know your business like you do. Don’t outsource conviction. Instead of paying for “the answer,” pay for insight that helps your teams build their answer.
3. Flip the change curve: Learn → Prove → Scale.
Start small. Let the value show up early. Then, and only then, lock it in and scale it across the business. That’s how real transformation happens—when it’s built from belief, not just alignment.
You don’t need to gamble the whole business.
You just need to stop waiting for perfect certainty in an uncertain world.
Because in the end, inaction is a strategy too—just not a very good one.
