The Triple Demons of Compromise

I got a list of in-house business classes in my inbox today, one of which was this gem:

RAPID is a decision making framework adopted by Yahoo! in early 2007. "Decide, align and get on with it" is one of the four Yahoo! Behaviors identified as key to Yahoo!'s success. (emphasis mine)

I think that’s a big part of the problem with Yahoo!’s corporate culture and subsequent lack of success: all decisions require a full consensus before execution. It certainly explains why my current project has lapsed into “analysis paralysis.”

Strong leaders are going to offend somebody. It’s inevitable. Believing you can achieve universal alignment is a dangerous fantasy.

Norton Juster once wrote of “the Triple Demons of Compromise”: one demon said to go left, one said to go right, and the third agreed with them both. Achieving consensus is a noble, popular, fruitless, and unnecessary goal. I’ve been there; it’s a mistake I will not make again. Make decisions, make unpleasant choices, demand that your underlings follow them, and then move on.