A Harvard Business study* discovered a fascinating phenomenon: the faster an idea was implemented, the more successful the implementation became. I know it sounds counterintuitive, and the original study looked at successful people in sales, but the concept of quick implementations are intriguing. The success has more to do with helping people change rather than the quality of the idea or the thoroughness of the plan. The science behind what makes speedy implementations work is pretty solid--no plan is perfect, and every idea can be improved. It is taking specific actions that really improves outcomes, not thinking and talking about it. People that get stuck in the status quo cycle/stress/worry about the new idea and imperfect plan. As a result, they don't take action to change. Being committed to improvement means continually taking action on new ideas and imperfect plans, and then adjusting the actions based upon promising early results. Speedy implementations force you into the improvement cycle.
So the next time you have a new idea that just might work, your ability to implement it quickly might just be the difference between success and failure.
*http://whoschrishughes.com/speed-of-implementation/
