Amazon had popularized this leadership principle called “bias for action.”
I find it is not only valuable for leaders at a strategic level, but also extremely useful for individual contributors on a day to day execution level.
Speed is your biggest weapon as an early-stage startup – especially in competitive and hyper-growth businesses.
Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive thinking.
Having a bias for action means you’re not afraid to make decisions and take action, even when you face uncertainty.
The first step to develop a bias for action is to simply put down your thoughts into some document.
Write down any fact, question, concern, idea, or task that you are thinking about.
Once you write down the first sentence, writing down the next one becomes comparatively easier.
The more you write down, the more clarity you get, and the path for execution becomes clear and easier.
Every single time, when we are brainstorming new initiatives, and when things get all overwhelming, I’ve seen writing things down has worked like a charm.
That’s when I realized, “bias for action” is not some fancy leadership principle that I need to learn.
It simply starts with writing down the first sentence.
