Know before you act!

Sri Lankans are an action-oriented nation. We, by nature like to act fast and finish the job as fast as possible and if the outcome is not the desired result then blame external factors and never take the blame for the failure.

A cheetah can run faster than man, a tiger can fight better than man, even without a weapon, an eagle can fly high and have a wider vision, but there is one unique advantage that man has over all other creatures; he has a superior brain! Man can win only if the brain is properly used supported by the body and not vice versa.

Results can be achieved both ways but what matters is the quality of the result, not how fast the result is achieved. Isn't this inherent weakness of Sri Lankans true in professional and personal life? Think about it, pause for a moment and reflect on your actions.

You will discover many instances where you may have hastened to act and achieved results that may have upset your goal. Sri Lankans need to slow down and think before acting. Sadly, today for most people performance is merely about completing the tast fast and not achieving the best results. For some people knowing or thinking before acting is perceived to be a waste of time.

'Wasting' time to achieve a better results is not bad at all and in fact is the right thing to do. Some people 'make do' and do an incomplete and half-baked job of everything. The discipline of evaluating alternate action and making the right choices following correct analysis, comprehending the situation, goal setting and planning are fundamental steps that are critical to KNOW before DOING to achieve the desired goal.

Every single problem has more than one solution and it's important to understand and evaluate all alternative approaches one can take to solve a single problem and then pick the best in terms of quality, easiness, time required, relative value of the outcome for a speedy result.

Speed is critical, but it must be the right quality at the best speed - without compromising quality because quality is paramount.

Focus clearly on the problem. Ask yourself what exactly the problem is, and why it is a problem. The more clearly you see your problem, the more likely you will be able to make a choice that works out. The rest is the easy.

You wouldn't fire a gun without aiming, would you? So, why would we act without thinking? When we live as robots doing whatever we feels good, instead of whatever is best for us, there is a heavy price to pay.

Replacing thoughtful behaviour with thoughtless acts, leads to material, mental and physical suffering, lost dreams, emotional turmoil and illness. The lesser the mistakes you make the faster and more sustainable the progress is in this fiercely competitive environment.

At the work-place, sadly, acting emotionally instead of rationally is the cause of needless failure.

The smart thing to do when emotions grip our imagination is to Stop and Think and Know before we Do or Act. So it's important more for leaders than for followers to understand this critical need to create an environment within which people can take enough time to Know before they Do.

This way, we will build more sustainable organisations through more capable people and their decisions.