day no. 15,011: a good plan violently executed now

"We must have the moral courage to make tough decisions in the face of uncertainty—and to accept full responsibility for those decisions—when the natural inclination would be to postpone the decision pending more complete information. To delay action in an emergency because of incomplete information shows a lack of moral courage. We do not want to make rash decisions, but we must not squander opportunities while trying to gain more information.

Finally, since all decisions must be made in the face of uncertainty and since every situation is unique, there is no perfect solution to any battlefield problem. Therefore, we should not agonize over one. The essence of the problem is to select a promising course of action with an acceptable degree of risk and to do it more quickly than our foe. In this respect, 'a good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.'”

Some opportunities are lost in waiting until you have all of the information. The law of diffusion of innovation suggests that the innovators are the 2.5% who act on little information and take upon themselves a large amount of risk. They live in uncharted waters and blaze trails through territory without maps to guide them. They hack away with a why waiting for them at the other end of the overgrowth. After them come the cartographers who map out where those brave men have gone. These are the 13.5% who adapt early on and jump on board. They are the first to walk behind the trailblazers and reap the advantage of having eyes on the new path. They set up shops and initiate maps and brands which will become common lingo for those who eventually frequent the path. The next 34% are the early majority who get it now that they've seen it done and been convinced that it can work. The next 34% are late to the party, but round out the last of the majority forming the 84% who buy in and ultimately become familiar with the path. By this point, the path is flooded with all of those opportunists looking to capitalize off of what the originals opened up. But the opportunity to do anything new has passed. 

All that to say, if you wait until conditions are perfectly predictable, you will miss out on many opportunities. You may still enjoy many good things, but they will be the products of those who braved the unpredictable in order to provide you with them.