Moving Forward Without Prematurely Worrying About Future Bridges

This post is based on a "note to self" from two years ago.

In many undertakings, there is a fine line between being proactive (or energetic or take-charge) and being reckless. Very few people work in an environment where you can merely think your way to success, so the more things you try, the more likely you are to succeed. In general it is good make progress, but not if that progress comes at the expense of other important qualities, such as sustainability or safety, or causes irreparable damage to an important relationship. 

At the other end of the spectrum, there is a fine line between being cautious (or careful or prudent) and being moribund. In many situations, it is good to "look before you leap" to prevent avoidable mistakes or to make sure that you really understand what you are trying to do so you aren't happily running down the wrong path at the outset. At the same time, however, there are many situations in which you will be waiting forever if you wait for perfect information or the perfect design, so you really need to try something to move forward. Even if that approach ends up being abandoned in the long run, you will have learned more about your problem space.

Most people probably fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, with some being a little more on the "risk-taking" side and others being a little more on the "measure twice, cut once" side. I might also posit that the same person can exhibit different tendencies over time based on previous experiences. If you have been burned in the past by moving too quickly (perhaps an egregious error made its way to the the final version of the project and revealed itself in a very public way), you will likely have that in the back of your mind when similar conditions present themselves. On the other hand, if your deliberate approach has caused you to lose opportunities (or funding) to others "who can get things done," that may also influence your attitude moving forward.

One might imagine that there are certain organizations which tend to attract folks that are to one side or the other of the continuum. Even so, within an organization, or even a team, there may be a range of attitudes. And, of course, a proactive approach may be more appropriate for some projects while a cautious approach is more appropriate for others. Identifying your own "default" attitude can be useful, as can developing the ability to articulate specific reasons for why a proactive (or cautious) approach is warranted in a given situation. Otherwise you run the risk of being seen as reckless or moribund. 

The title of this post comes (obviously, I assume) from the saying "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Pretending that the bridge is of no consequence as you barrel towards it is probably reckless. That said, worrying endlessly about how you will cross the bridge is futile if that prevents you from ever starting the journey towards it in the first place.