The High Cost of Your High IQ
In my twenty years of executive coaching, I’ve noticed a painful paradox: The smartest people in the room are often the slowest.
While you are meticulously strategizing, scenario-planning, and waiting for "perfect" conditions, someone with half your experience and a quarter of your talent has already launched.
They have already failed, learned, adjusted, and launched again. They are lapping you, not because they are better, but because they are moving.
Intellect is an asset, but overthinking is a liability. In the current business landscape, speed is the new currency. The market does not reward the best plan; it rewards the executed one.
When you obsess over every variable, you aren't being thorough; you are hiding. You are disguising fear as due diligence.
Real leadership is a catalyst for movement. It requires the confidence to Aim, Fire, and then - and only then - Adjust. You cannot steer a parked car.
Stop wearing your perfectionism like a badge of honor. It’s a millstone. If you want to leverage your actual intelligence, get out of your head and get into the market.
Take Action:
The 70% Rule: If you have 70% of the information and 70% confidence, pull the trigger. The remaining 30% is found in the execution, not the planning.
The 24-Hour Kill Switch: For any decision that isn't mission-critical (e.g., website copy, meeting agendas, minor policy tweaks), give yourself a strict 24-hour deadline. If you haven't decided by then, the default option executes automatically. Move on.
