How to Develop a Bias to Action

The perils of decision paralysis are well-established. So how can we train to have a bias to action?

The marines are trained to have a bias for action. A key motto in their training is “hesitation kills.” In a battlefield situation, that’s not a metaphor.

This doesn’t mean that you should act rashly — because that can also kill.

The point is to find that sweet spot where you’re making a quick decision and taking action after having considered the available information.

Marines train for this, via simulations. They learn how to quickly intake the information available to them, make decisions, and take action.

Second-guessing isn’t an option.

Mistakes may happen. And if you make one, you own it, learn from it, and move on.

How can we train a bias to action in the civilian context?

A 4-Part Framework For Decisions

A colleague who is a project manager for construction sites shared a 4-part framework he uses with his team for making decisions:

• Is there a safety condition?
• Does this issue fit a previous known pattern that we can work from?
• If this is a novel issue, do we have access to any templates that we can use to guide us?
• If it’s new, have we done an assessment first to know the requirements?

He trains his team to always have a bias for action.

Addressing the Safety Condition

There are situations where the “safety” involved is physical: construction, medical issues, police officers on the ground. In those situations, the safety question is a fairly simple one.

For most creatives and knowledge workers — coaches, consultants, attorneys, real estate brokers — the safety is usually emotional. And that becomes a more complex stumbling block to action.

The biggest interference with a bias to action is the inner voice telling you all the reasons it’s not “safe” for you to take action.

That inner voice fears judgment, reproach, being misunderstood, and rejection.

It’s too simple to say “kill the voice,” because the voice is a part of you that wants to keep you safe.

Instead of trying to kill the voice, you must train in the skill of cultivating safety and inner resilience: the certainty that you’ll be ok no matter what.