When you face a problem, what happens if you do nothing?

When you are faced with a problem or an opportunity, you should ask yourself what happens if you decide to do any? Will the situation get better or worse?

Many of my readers call my office if they are involved in a negotiation and need help. I’m always happy to help if I’m there. If I’m on a conference trip, I’ll always call back when I’m back in town. Over the years, I’ve learned something interesting. If I’m out of town and can’t call them back for a few days, in more than half of the cases, the problem is gone by the time I contact them. In more than half of the cases, the best solution to the problem was to make no decision at all.

There are only two kinds of problems, people problems and money problems. But within those two categories, there are many different kinds of problems. For example:

You have many options but you don’t know which one to choose.

• When you are faced with a problem or an opportunity, you should ask yourself what happens if you decide to do any? Will the situation get better or worse?
• You don’t see any solution to the problem.
• It’s a we do or we don’t decision. Do we buy the new office building or not? Do we hire this person or not?

Every time you face a we do or we don’t decision you first thought should be, “What if we don’t do anything?”

The decision to invade the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas was a we do or we don’t decision. A religious sect had barricaded itself in the religious retreat on Mount Carmel. When ATF officers approached their compound to determine if they were breaking gun laws, four of them were shot and killed.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers besieged the compound. The incident became a national issue and it was up to Attorney General Janet Reno to decide what to do. After a 51-day standoff, she gave orders to invade. The defenders quickly set fire to the complex and 76 people died in a horrific mass suicide.

Janet Reno should have thought, “What if we don’t do anything?” She explained that she had to act because children were being abused within the complex. I’m sorry, Janet, but this was just plain untrue. When the FBI sniffs out food supplies for the rebels, they cleverly bug the milk cartons. They could hear every word spoken and you can read the transcripts on the Internet. There was no child abuse.

It should have been clear to the authorities that there was no compelling reason to invade. The correct solution to the problem would have been to cordon off the area and do nothing. When the FBI confronted the freemen’s rebellion in Montana three years later, they had learned their lesson. They did nothing and 81 days later the rebels surrendered without firing a single shot.

Before you act, determine this: if you do nothing, will it make the problem worse or better? If it’s not going to get worse, give it some time and see if it doesn’t go away.

By Roger Dawson