It’s a sentiment I often hear from leaders under pressure to deliver results—and fast! But when we rush into action without clearly understanding what we’re trying to achieve, we can end up pouring resources into initiatives that miss the mark.

Consider the example of an organisation that invested in an expensive website redesign. A few months after launch, leadership was disappointed. They’d hoped to see new customer numbers soar, but growth stayed flat. Why? Because they rushed to the solution, didn’t define what they were aiming for, and failed to explore whether a new website was the best way to achieve their goals.

Now, think of a recent initiative that didn’t quite deliver. Was the desired outcome clearly defined, or was there a rush to act? Was the solution designed specifically to achieve that outcome, or was a familiar approach chosen too quickly? Were those tasked with execution involved in designing the solution, or were they simply told what to do? And if it became clear the approach wasn’t working, was there room to pivot? Often, some or all of these factors are at play when an initiative falls short.

This is why I love teaching leaders an outcome-oriented approach to decision-making and problem-solving—one that helps them avoid both the impulse to jump into action and the paralysis of overthinking. It’s about defining what we want to achieve before deciding how to get there. When we’re clear and aligned on our goals, we create options that are more likely to succeed and enable teams to pivot if things don’t go as expected.

That’s the power of clear outcomes: focused teams, impactful actions, and ultimately—aspirations turned into results.