Perfection is a losing game, but endurance and appetite in chasing an 100% outcome often yields better options even when it becomes apparent the 100% outcome isn’t achievable. In transformation projects teams tend to gravitate towards one of two approaches.
Aggressive De-Risking: A team can ‘de-risk’ a path to an 100% outcome, convincing themselves to trade a path to a 50% outcome for a path to a 10% outcome. Possible failures volunteer themselves as excuses for aiming lower. Aggressive De-riskers trade early and often, value current over potential, and work in increments. This is a good approach for projects where perfection offers a low return and high loss potential.
Totalizers: A team can ‘double-down’ on a path to an 100% solution convincing themselves into trading a path to an 80% outcome for remaining on a path that ends up with a lesser outcome. The problem with this approach is that solutions can be like bad high-school friends, sometimes they don’t ever grow up. Totalizers lock on a simplified version of the whole, put the impetus for evaluating alternatives on others, and require clear understanding of how alternative paths lead to 100% solutions.
Both approaches are problematic for transformation, where solution success is uncertain and solution investment is significant. Many transformation projects end up landing short of 100% of the outcome desired, some landings are more graceful than others.
De-Riskers are more likely to consider alternative paths and landing zones, but their risk model is flawed for a transformation approach. The De-Riskers will invest too heavily in developing alternate paths and aim too close to recreating the same outcome.
Totalizers set the criteria for path re-evaluation too high, and therefore fail to develop viable alternative paths. Without re-evaluating paths to choose a safe landing zones when things aren’t working, the outcome can often be the first thing traded away.
No team is smart, skilled, and lucky enough to be able to deliver 100% outcomes every time, but disciplined ones use conscious choices about aggressive paths and graceful landing zones to beat the average.
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