Choose and Win

In my previous work at Who Moved My Cheese? there was a phrase in the training that really got people talking with various perspectives. The phrase was "Change and Win." Individuals who were resistant to change would howl that not all change was good. Those who were proponents of change would laud the phrase as a battle cry to those around them. The truth lies in the choosing-not necessarily the changing.

If we choose a course of action and it turns out to be the right one, our instincts are rewarded. If, however, the chosen direction is revealed to be the wrong one, we lament our decision. However, at least if we made a choice, we now have the opportunity to make a different, more infomed choice based on new information. Without making the wrong choice, we would never have that knowledge.

So if you are paralyzing your own professional or personal success today because of a failure to choose, it's time to make a choice and see it through. The knowledge, insights and experience you gain, whether it is the right one or not, can be used to make a better choice next time-and get one step closer to winning. As Yogi Berra once said, When you come to a fork in the road, take it.