Once upon a time, there were the 3 Little Bigs—Big, Bigger and Biggest.

This toxic trio were known to wreak havoc all across indecisive business kingdoms far and wide.

First there was Big—better know as Inefficient.

Big can be spotted festering in most office settings. As new models evolve, Big does no such thing. Thus leading to your company’s processes, products and people slowly falling behind.
Big knows you don’t take Big as serious as you should. Which brings a little smile to Big’s scarier sibling Bigger—better known as Ineffective.

Compared to his smaller, slower brother, Bigger takes the frustration cake. As time slips by, with more indecision, Bigger is right there for most to plainly see—weakening cultures, watering stories and perpetuating inaction. More times than not, the hardworking office citizens can spot Bigger long before the Ivory Tower of leadership ever saw him coming. To them, Bigger’s impact is obvious. Yet because they stayed silent—assuming Bigger was seen by most, all across the land—the business continues to suffer.

Enter Biggest. She shows up when times are bleak and goes by the name of Irrelevance.

By the time Biggest shows her depressing face—once spotted—it’s usually too late never to see her again. Biggest outlives her welcome—staying with you when your business is externally in the shadows of meaningful conversations. Internally, she roams around a maze of sullen, surrendered “its-just-a-job” employees. And your business? It lives unhappily ever after.

The Disappointing End.

Almost all organizations cope with some level of inefficiencies. It’s only when we let those big threats run unchecked that we could land our businesses in a bigger problem—a land of ineffectiveness. And if we continue to allow indecisiveness to rule our day jobs, we may find our businesses in the biggest corporate conundrum of them all—the sad shadows of irrelevance.

Proactive change starts with clarity, courage and conversation. If you know someone on your team who needs this paralyzing parable, do them a favor and forward this on.

Stay Courageous,
Ryan