The Cost of Inaction: Why Hesitation Is the Real Risk

Inaction is like lying by omission. You feel as if you aren’t hurting anything, but in reality you’ve already made the wrong decision. Failing to act has multiple consequences, many of which can change the course your business takes.

When I was injured in a parachute accident that ended my military career, I thought the right move was to stop. I waited for certainty before deciding what came next, but in doing so, I missed quiet opportunities right in front of me. What I believed was a necessary pause ultimately cost me multiple chances to begin again. Looking back, I realize I was waiting for clarity about a chapter that had already closed. Hesitation isn’t neutral. It’s a decision to let someone else make choices for you, and those choices are rarely the right ones.

The same thing happens in business every day. Leaders often think they are avoiding risk by delaying a decision. They are simply choosing a different risk by allowing the competition and circumstances to decide the outcome.

Hesitation is a Decision

One of the biggest misconceptions is that doing nothing is somehow safer than making the wrong choice. It can feel responsible to wait for another report, another meeting, or another round of market research. However, while you gather more information, the world doesn’t stop moving.

I experienced this firsthand while leading evacuation operations during the Libyan Civil War. As violence escalated across Tripoli and Benghazi, the intelligence available to my team changed constantly. Roads that were open in the morning could be blocked by the afternoon. Waiting for complete information wasn’t an option because the situation itself refused to stand still.

My team had a choice. We could wait until every route was confirmed and every uncertainty disappeared, or we could act using the best information available while preparing for what we didn’t yet know.

We chose the second option. Since multiple contingency plans were already in place, they adapted to conditions without losing momentum. The plan wasn’t perfect because, in a crisis, no plan ever is. Yet an imperfect evacuation is always better than a perfect evacuation that never leaves. Just like an imperfect early entrance into a new market is better than losing that chance to the competition.

Why Smart Leaders Fall into the Trap of Overthinking

Hesitation is rarely a demonstration of weakness. Ironically, it’s the result of experience. The more decisions leaders make throughout their careers, the more ways they can imagine those decisions going wrong. Experience improves judgment, but it also heightens awareness of risk. Without realizing it, many executives start treating every possible failure as a reason to delay.

Meanwhile, they lull themselves into a false sense of progress: another report, another meeting, another round of research. At some point, gathering information stops improving decision quality and delays the decision.

There’s another reason hesitation is so common within organizations. Mistakes are visible. Everyone remembers the acquisition that failed or the product launch that fell short of expectations. Inaction, however, leaves no obvious evidence. Few companies pause to examine the deals they never pursued, the exceptional employees who accepted another offer, or the customers who quietly signed with a competitor. Those missed opportunities rarely appear in quarterly reports, yet they often prove far more costly than the visible mistakes.

You Don’t Need Perfect Information

Being decisive doesn’t mean acting recklessly. Act when you have 70% or more of the information. Less than that is a gamble, and waiting for more can translate into missed opportunities. I like to continue gathering information until new intelligence stops changing the plan. Once additional information only increases your comfort rather than improving your decision, it’s probably time to move.

Ask yourself a simple question: Will more information change my decision, or will it simply make me feel more comfortable about the decision I already know I need to make?

Momentum Creates Clarity

I learned this lesson during my record-breaking ride along the Pan-American Highway from Argentina to Alaska. Most people see a world record and assume it was achieved through incredible physical endurance. The challenge became a daily lesson in making progress despite imperfect conditions. Patagonia greeted me with relentless winds capable of pushing cyclists off the road. Waiting for ideal weather would have made the record impossible. Instead, I learned to judge each day based on what was achievable. Some days meant riding into strong headwinds at half the expected pace and others required changing plans entirely. The important thing was continuing to move.

Half-speed forward still beats standing still.

The same mindset shaped my decision to attempt the expedition in the first place. I wasn’t an experienced cyclist, nor did I have all the knowledge required to complete a 14,000-mile journey. Rather than waiting until I felt fully prepared, I committed first. Then I hired coaches, built a training program, and developed a strategy. Commitment created urgency, and urgency drove preparation. Many organizations reverse that process. They spend so much time trying to prepare for every possibility that they never fully commit to moving forward.

The Hidden Cost of Hesitation

The consequences of indecision don’t just affect leaders. Eventually, hesitation becomes part of company culture. At first, there’s always a reasonable explanation for waiting:

• The market is uncertain.
• The hiring decision isn’t final.
• One more report would be helpful.
• One more quarter will provide better data.

Over time, waiting becomes the organization’s default response. Ideas stop being shared because no one expects decisions. Projects lose momentum, and top performers leave for companies that move faster. By the time a hesitant organization finally decides, someone else has already gained real-world experience the waiting company can never recover.

Creating a culture of decisive leadership starts at the top. Leaders need to make it clear that thoughtful action is valued more than endless consensus. This means judging decisions by the quality of reasoning, not outcome alone. Good decisions sometimes yield disappointing results because circumstances change. Likewise, poor decisions occasionally succeed by luck. If organizations reward only outcomes, employees quickly learn that protecting themselves matters more than taking ownership.​

Which Risk Will You Choose?

Every important decision carries risk. The mistake many leaders make is believing that waiting somehow avoids risk. Waiting simply exchanges one set of risks for another. Opportunities disappear as competitors gain ground. By the time certainty finally arrives, the available choices tend to be worse than before.  

Ask your team: What specific information will we have next month that we don’t have today?

If you can answer that question, waiting may be the right call. Set a deadline, gather the information, and make the decision. If you can’t answer it, you’re probably not waiting for clarity. You’re waiting for the discomfort of deciding to go away. It rarely does. Discomfort doesn’t disappear with time but through calculated action.

The information provided is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, recommendations, or solicitation. Solyco Capital and/or its affiliates may have financial interests in companies discussed herein, which creates potential conflicts of interest. The views expressed are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect official positions of Solyco Capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Readers should conduct independent research and consult their own attorneys, accountants, and other professional advisors before making any investment decisions. The content herein should not be construed as a solicitation or offer to engage in any investment strategy, purchase of securities, or other transaction. All information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied.

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