Patience – Strategic Advantage or Disadvantage?

One surprise for me about social media is Foursquare has made be more patient. Not really PATIENT, mind you, but more patient than I usually am while waiting at retail stores. Instead of being my usual impatient self while cooling my heels in a non-moving checkout line, I’m now usually pre-occupied with checking in on Foursquare.

That personal change got me thinking about the distinct strategic advantages and disadvantages of patience.

Advantages of Being Patient:

  • It allows you time for strategic thinking and completely evaluating a situation.
  • Things have time to fall into place, presenting a clearer strategic view of what’s taking place.
  • You’re okay with waiting until things calm down, putting you in a better position to make strategic decisions.
  • It’s likely you’re empathetic to challenges others face, even if you don’t share them.

Disadvantages of Being Patient:

  • You miss important opportunities to act while you wait for everything to be in place, even things not absolutely necessary to effectively get started with implementation.
  • It’s likely you hold out for information that simply confuses or doesn’t add any real strategic value in clarifying a situation.
  • You ignore the innovative wisdom that comes from going with your instincts and initial perspectives.
  • You may too easily make allowances for team members’ correctable challenges, compromising overall team performance.

There are four strategic advantages along with four corresponding disadvantages for being patient. Do you think it’s more of a strategic advantage or a disadvantage to be patient?

Don’t miss an article (1,550+) – Subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Continuous Innovation group!


Mike BrownMike Brown is an award-winning innovator in strategy, communications, and experience marketing. He authors the BrainzoomingTM blog, and serves as the company’s chief Catalyst. He wrote the ebook “Taking the NO Out of InNOvation” and is a frequent keynote presenter.

Posted in ,

Mike Brown

NEVER MISS ANOTHER NEWSLETTER!

Categories

LATEST BLOGS

Four ways you can ensure employees take accountability for their work

By Hubert Day | April 5, 2023

One of the most important driving factors for any successful business is a high-performing team. Having people working for you…

Read More

What is digital upskilling and why is it important?

By Hubert Day | February 15, 2023

            Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash In a world of business that never stands…

Read More

Leave a Comment