Inaction Is Worse Than Doing the Wrong Thing

Cicero once said, "More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity".

Life happens while you wait to act. You might remember the girl you never asked out on a date in high school; back then, you were probably waiting for the right time. Now, you don't know what would have happened. This feeling of not knowing is worse than knowing if she ignored you or if she was waiting for you to ask her out.

The same thing happens in business; while you wait for your team to align or for the next quarter when you have more time, your competitors are moving ahead and learning from it.

Inaction might feel safe, but it's incredibly costly. While you're stuck in meetings and analysis, a bolder competitor is already learning and improving. The message is clear: standing still is often the riskiest move of all.

Inaction Is the Real Risk

Doing nothing is often more damaging than making a wrong move. Decisive action, even if flawed, moves you forward, whereas indecision and paralysis guarantee stagnation. In business and life, the greatest failure is failing to act. We learn, course-correct, and innovate by doing – but gain nothing from letting opportunities slip by.

Throughout history, politics, and business, leaders who acted (even imperfectly) achieved better outcomes than those who waited. Bold action creates momentum, lessons, and sometimes serendipitous success, whereas inaction breeds regret. 

Example – WWII

In the late 1930s, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain chose inaction in the face of rising aggression, believing it would secure "peace for our time." The result was emboldening a dictator and a far worse war. Winston Churchill famously criticized this hesitation: "You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war." His words highlight that avoiding a tough decision often leads to a dire outcome anyway. History vindicated Churchill's decisive stance; it was his resolve and actions that helped rally an ultimate victory when inaction had failed.

He who hesitates is lost. History shows that trying to "play it safe" or delay the inevitable can backfire spectacularly. Decisive action – even at the risk of making mistakes – is often the lesser of two evils. Leaders remembered as heroes are those who take bold action in the clutch, not those who stood by hoping problems solved themselves.

Example – Great Depression

During the 1930s crisis, President Herbert Hoover largely clung to a cautious "wait it out" approach. As the economy crumbled, his passivity cost him public confidence – Americans saw his "waiting things out" philosophy as doing nothing. In 1933, they turned to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who promised action. FDR's response was the New Deal, a flurry of bold initiatives aimed at reviving the economy. "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something," FDR urged. Not every New Deal program succeeded, and critics abounded, but these efforts stopped the bleeding and restored hope. The economy began to recover, and, perhaps more importantly, people felt that someone was taking action.

FDR's bias for action redefined American leadership. His "bold, persistent experimentation" showed that a flawed plan executed now can beat a perfect plan never tried. Hoover's inaction, by contrast, had left the nation paralyzed. This lesson is clear: decisive leadership in a crisis (even with imperfect solutions) trumps cautious inaction. Citizens and teams will rally behind a leader who leaps rather than one who freezes.

Example – Kodak vs. Fujifilm

The downfall of Kodak is a classic cautionary tale for corporate leaders. Kodak actually invented the digital camera but then did nothing with it, fearing it would cannibalize its film business. They clung to old habits as the world went digital. Fujifilm, by contrast, saw the writing on the wall and took decisive action – they diversified aggressively beyond film. Over a decade, Fuji reinvented itself (entering new markets like cosmetics and tech materials), while Kodak stagnated. The result? Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012, whereas Fujifilm thrived – Fujifilm's revenue grew by 57% as it transformed, even as Kodak's sales fell by 48% in that same period. Fuji's bold pivot wasn't flawless, but it kept the company alive and relevant. Kodak's inaction sealed its fate.

Example – Coca-Cola's "New Coke"

In 1985, Coca-Cola took a massive gamble by introducing "New Coke" – a reformulation of its flagship product. The move was widely regarded as a mistake (consumer backlash was fierce). Yet, doing something bold had an unexpected silver lining. Within 79 days, Coke brought back the original formula as "Coca-Cola Classic." What happened? The public rejoiced – and Coke saw its biggest one-year sales spike ever, reversing years of market share decline. In hindsight, that wrong move taught Coke priceless lessons about customer loyalty and actually strengthened its brand. Suppose Coca-Cola had done nothing and just slowly lost ground to Pepsi. In that case, they'd never have discovered how much people cared. As Coke's CEO (not Pablo Escobar) later noted, "We don't get paid to be right; we get paid to produce results," and the result of this misstep was ultimately positive.

Insight for professional services

In fields such as consulting, law, or design, waiting for perfect information or consensus can be detrimental to business. If you delay proposing a solution until it's "100% bulletproof," a more proactive competitor might win the client by taking proactive action. Your bold proposal might not be exactly what the client envisioned. Still, it opens a dialogue and shows leadership, far better than silence. As Axiacore's own experience shows, endless deliberation over minor details leads to missed deadlines and bloated scope, while taking the initiative delivers something tangible to work on. Action creates feedback; inaction creates nothing.

Takeaways

Inaction is the worst kind of failure. Doing nothing feels safe but is far more costly in the long run than charging ahead and getting it wrong. Mistakes can be corrected, lessons learned, and momentum gained – but opportunities lost to indecision are often gone forever. Research in psychology consistently finds that people regret the chances they didn't take far more than the actions they did, even if those actions failed. Don't let your business become a story of "what might have been."

It's time to embrace action. Be the leader who steps into the arena. In practical terms, this means:

1. Make decisions and keep moving – Gather the best info you can, then commit to a course. Set a firm deadline to decide and avoid analysis paralysis.
2. Adopt a trial-and-error mindset – Treat each initiative as an experiment (remember FDR's "try something" ethos). If it fails, adjust and try again, but keep pushing forward.
3. Empower decisive culture – Encourage your team to take ownership and act. Reward initiative and treat well-intentioned mistakes as learning opportunities, not disasters.

In the professional services world, your value to clients comes from confident leadership and momentum. So, launch that new project you've been debating. Make the tough call you've been putting off. Write that proposal that's not "perfect" yet. Do something. As the saying goes, the best time to act was yesterday; the second-best time is now. Your bold action today – even if not perfect – is the first step toward tomorrow's success, whereas inaction is the surest path to regret and failure. 

In business and life, fortune favors the bold.