Yesterday, my son and I spent almost two hours on buses, trains, and the Metro, passing countless barbers along the way, to visit a barber located under an apartment building in Sydney’s inner west.
With 200,000 YouTube subscribers, don’t underestimate the power of Youtube and TikTok to grow your business (especially if you’re appealing to 14 year olds…)
This got me thinking about something I see constantly:
The most successful leaders are willing to take unpopular journeys that others won’t.
Last week, a reader shared her experiences after reading my email about the dangers of delaying decisions until everyone agrees.
During an executive meeting, her leadership team faced two conflicting decisions: one immediate, and one future-based.
While everyone remained non-committal, she broke the deadlock with a simple framework:
“Decision two is in the future and not fully defined yet. Decision one is right in front of us and well-analysed. What’s the worst that could happen if we move forward?”
She described the worst-case scenario, determined it was acceptable, and said, “Let’s do it.”
They did. And it worked.
The courage to make decisions that aren’t universally popular is becoming increasingly rare, I find.
A McKinsey study found that 65% of executives delay critical decisions until they achieve consensus – even when waiting damages the outcome.
It’s like refusing to visit a YouTube famous barber unless they open a shop on your street.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon addressed this directly in a shareholder letter when he introduced their principle of “disagree and commit.” He wrote:
“If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there’s no consensus, it’s helpful to say, ‘Look, I know we disagree on this, but will you gamble with me on it?'”
This approach has helped Amazon move much more quickly into new markets than competitors even though it’s a massive organisation.
Your Challenge This Week:
Identify one decision you’ve been delaying while seeking universal agreement and ask:
“What’s the cost of waiting for everyone to agree versus making a good enough decision now?”
Because the most valuable leadership skill isn’t popularity – it’s courage.
Matthew Needham is an accountant and former CFO who consults and speaks on improving organisational performance. He helps leaders without a finance background confidently engage in financial discussions, enabling better decisions that drive improved performance. For more information, visit matthewneedham.co.