Hey Reader,

"Oh God, here we go again."

That's what my team would groan every time I brought a new idea to them. I used to think one of my greatest gifts was the ability to see over the horizon, connect the dots, and come up with a million new ideas. It took me a while to hear what they were telling me with those groans.

See, I was in a group back then and we used to have a monthly presentation from a speaker. Each month we would laugh about how dangerous it was to hear one of those presentations every fourth Tuesday. Everybody at the office would know that on Wednesday, something was going to change. We'd caution each other: "Make sure you're not going home and moving the yardstick on everyone based on what we learned today."

It still took me a few repetitions of bringing home my latest, greatest idea before I saw it.

You've heard the opposite advice, and it's good advice. Move fast and adapt, because the leader who holds a stale plan too long gets run over. That's right to an extent but it leaves out what your speed costs the people carrying the plan.

Your team doesn't live where you live

Picture an old radio tower. You're at the top, looking at mountains nobody else can see, deciding whether to go to that peak or to that one. Your leaders are partway down, and can see some of what you can.

The people doing the work are at the base. They can't see any of it. They're living in the next 90 days, because that's what's in their control and that's what was agreed upon.

From the top, we think we can just redirect and everybody will get on board. Here's what you get instead: someone looks at the plan you sold them last quarter and thinks, "Well, this isn't gonna stick. I'm just gonna wait, because this too shall pass."

They don't argue. They hold back. You don't only lose the rework. You lose the discretionary effort, and that's the part no compensation plan can buy back.

A 2011 study of what poorly handled change leaves behind points the same way. Employees who believed their organization had a poor record with change reported less trust, less openness to the next change, and more cynicism. Those beliefs predicted who actually left over the next two years.

The next idea just got cheaper

In a 2023 experiment, ChatGPT cut the time professionals spent on short writing tasks by 40%. You can have a new plan on paper before lunch. That speed tells you nothing about whether your team can absorb it, so the gap between your next idea and their next 90 days is now yours to manage.

Change on a rhythm

I'm not telling you to stop changing. A study of 67 European insurers from 1995 to 2004 found that companies changing on a regular rhythm outperformed those changing irregularly. The pattern tied to long-term success was a regular balance of change and stability.

So keep looking over the horizon. That's your job. Just stop carrying everything you see straight down the tower.

What finally worked for me was getting the idea out of my brain and into a system where I could see it. When an idea went into a black hole, it drove me bonkers. When someone said, "I'm putting it on our roadmap, let's talk about it at our next quarterly," I was good.

The date matters. In a 2011 experiment, undergraduates with unfinished tasks who committed to how, when, and where they'd finish them had fewer intrusive thoughts and read better on an unrelated task. People who only listed options without committing stayed distracted. A parking lot without a date is a black hole with a better name.

A CEO I worked with recently changed his ten-year picture. We agreed his three-year plan wouldn't move, and I expect that new idea to come back about every 90 days. When it does, we'll ask what has changed that requires us to decide or act differently now.

Here's your move

Take the idea you're most excited about bringing to your team and write it down. Ask yourself if it fits within the vision you've set, and what the short term and long term impacts this idea has on you, the business, and your team.

Then put a date on it and set a reminder to revisit it in 90 days.

If you're still excited and it fits the vision you've set, let the team see it and share your excitement.

Where I might be wrong

I went looking for a study proving that teams deliberately wait out the next change, and I couldn't find one. What I do have is a lot of firsthand experience hearing my team groan at the newest change, and a lot of insight from hearing the same thing from the clients I work with. I couldn't find proof that 90 days beats 60 or 120 either, so use the window your business can hold.

And sometimes you need to change, and you need to change now. Knowing how these things all fit together is your job, and nobody can do it for you.

The next time a great speaker gets you fired up on Tuesday, write it down and put a date on it. Let Wednesday be Wednesday.

dusty

P.S. A good idea can shut a room down even when it's right. That's Episode 71 of Leadership Unlocked with Dave Garrison, on what buy-in takes.