According to Professor Adam Grant, Wharton School of Business, “We shouldn’t be afraid to start early, but equally we shouldn’t be afraid to be slow to finish… procrastination might just improve the end result.”* When used sensibly by leaders, procrastination is a powerful management strategy.
Yes or no? Is procrastination a good thing? Chances are if you are like most people, you answered no. That is because we have been conditioned to believe that procrastination is a bad habit that needs to be broken. The truth is that procrastination can be an asset to your productivity when used wisely and with a concrete result in mind.
I once reported to a CEO and would create projects based on the conversation he just completed, or the newspaper article he read the evening before. I would jump right on the project, deliver it promptly, to find out he had forgotten about it. Getting smarter, I waited for him to raise the topic a second time before I considered acting on it. Over time, it became easier to determine which ideas were serious and deserved work time and which could sit on hold until they were mentioned again. That strategy saved hundreds of hours of time.
Procrastination is also a helpful strategy when there is a fluid, quickly-evolving situation. The Wall Street Journal on the phone? An executive accused of harassment? A fire in the plant? It can take time for facts to surface and conflicting details to unravel. Speaking too early without facts can backfire and make a situation worse. In these fast-moving situations, with people clamoring for answers, it is most helpful if you remain calm, focus on the overall situation, and decide from whom you will get the facts and when you will be available to provide a considered response.
This story is from the July - August 2018 edition of The Smart Manager.
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This story is from the July - August 2018 edition of The Smart Manager.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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