What's the cost of not doing it?

In the movie Zero Dark Thirty, the CIA official who found the suspicious house in Abbottabad kept reminding her senior - by writing everyday on his glass cabin - the number of days that passed since they first located the house. The senior was also frustrated at not being able to convince the White House staff for affirmative action. So much so that at the end of another review meeting, he asked the White House staffer how he evaluated the cost of not doing something on this? This question altered thinking and prompted him to ask for options if they were to do it and the rest is history.

Business leaders who challenge status quo to stay relevant and grow often have to step into a world of the unknown where they need to make choices without being certain of outcome. Asking the question - “What’s the cost of not doing this” brings in much needed clarity. And this does not always mean that you go ahead with your ideas, sometimes the cost of not doing something would still be a better choice.

If you are a startup selling a risk management solution that looks at risk in new ways, chances are that your proposal will lose its way in the corporate jungle. In the context of the company's turnover and assets managed, the question you should ask the business is - what is the cost of not using this risk management solution? It is likely to get your proposal back in the reckoning.

And so why shouldn't this apply to your own personal goals - what’s the cost of putting off something that you always wanted to do ?

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