By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
Listen to this article:
Abstract: This article examines the benefits of strategic patience and active pausing in decision-making, especially under conditions of uncertainty. While leaders are often rewarded for quick action, research shows that slowing down to gain better perspective through reducing cognitive biases, fully evaluating uncertainty, identifying creative opportunities, thorough risk analysis, and building stakeholder consensus can lead to wiser choices. Specific scenarios where patience has served organizations well include M&A decisions, crisis response, major innovations, and leadership transitions, as shown through case studies of a retailer and tech company. Overall, strategic patience can provide long-term orientation, opportunity maximization through thorough reflection, risk mitigation by considering all factors, stakeholder buy-in, efficient resource allocation, and a culture of learning through reflection. The article argues that periodically slowing down decision-making allows organizations to navigate uncertainty and industry shifts from a position of strength.
In today's fast-paced business environment, organizations often feel constant pressure to push forward and act quickly. Decision-makers are rewarded for taking action and demonstrating momentum. However, there are also times when slowing down, pausing thoughtfully, and exercising strategic patience may be the wisest choice. An "active pause" allows leaders to gain better perspective, maximize future opportunities, and make decisions firmly grounded in research and reality rather than haste or impulse.
Today we will explore the research on strategic patience and decision making under uncertainty.
Research Foundation: Patience and Perspective
A substantial body of research shows the value of patience and deliberation in decision making. Some key findings:
Cognitive biases. Under pressure or deadlines, cognitive biases like the sunk cost fallacy, confirmation bias, and overconfidence tend to influence judgments more (Kahneman, 2011). Stepping back reduces their impact.
Uncertainty. When situations involve uncertainty, ambiguity, or complexity, moving too quickly often backfires as new information emerges or implications become clearer (Powell & Colin, 2009). More perspective helps navigate uncertainty.
Opportunity identification. Taking time to observe, reflect, brainstorm, and consider alternatives from different angles surfaces creative opportunities that urgency can obscure (Sull, Homkes, & Sull, 2015).
Risk mitigation. Hasty choices narrow the option set and don't allow for contingency planning. A pause invites careful risk analysis and making adjustments based on new insights (Nair & Landau, 2020).
Stakeholder buy-in. Rushing forces premature commitments and neglects engaging key stakeholders. Patience builds understanding and consensus around the best path (Fernandez & Rainey, 2006).
Incorporating strategic patience counters impulsive decision traps and allows for holistic perspectives that optimize outcomes. While bold action has its place, an "active pause" is often a prerequisite for effective, high-impact moves.
When to Hit the Brakes: Specific Scenarios
Certain situations call for special care and an extended pause before proceeding. A few scenarios where strategic patience has served organizations well include:
Mergers & Acquisitions: M&A decisions involve massive resources, complexity, and long-term implications. Rushing or not thoroughly vetting targets can sink potentially synergistic deals. Intel notably paused its pursuit of Altera for 18 months to fully evaluate strategic fit before acquiring the company for $16.7 billion (Muehlhaus, 2022).
Crisis Response: In crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, hastily devised "solutions" often lack effectiveness or have unintended consequences as conditions evolve rapidly. Companies pausing to understand root causes and impacts, coordinate with partners, and devise well-considered contingency plans fared better in the long run (Bartik et al., 2020).
Major Innovation Initiatives: Game-changing innovations like the iPhone took years to materialize despite pressure to release premature versions. Apple's patience allowed polishing and ensuring a quantum leap as conditions became ripe, beating competitors who rushed flawed products (Isaacson, 2011).
Leadership Transitions: New CEOs are often eager to put their stamp on things quickly. But those who took time assessing stakeholder views, culture audits, strategic reviews, and developing a consensus transition plan saw smoother journeys ahead (Kaiser & Overfield, 2011).
Geopolitical Changes: When countries undergo seismic shifts, like Brexit, pausing negotiations provided space to understand impacts, manage uncertainty, and broker compromises—as opposed to hasty withdrawals that risked chaos (Weale & Citi, 2020).
In each case, an "active pause" to thoroughly evaluate options from multiple angles proved wiser than rushing into irreversible choices. The next section explores specific industry examples.
Applying Strategic Patience: Two Case Studies
Case Study 1 - A Retailer's Pause Preserves Market Position
A mid-sized clothing retailer was enjoying steady 5-8% annual growth selling trendy apparel. Sensing opportunity, leadership pushed an aggressive expansion, approving 20 new locations in 18 months, largely in riskier neighborhood centers versus established malls. Within a year, same-store sales plunged as the expansion coincided with an economic slowdown. Near-bankruptcy loomed.
The new CEO realized overextending so rapidly amid changing conditions was a mistake. She instituted a freeze on new stores and spending 3 months analyzing performance, markets, and strategy with consultant guidance. This revealed specific underperforming regions and product categories to exit or improve. A pared-back expansion strategy focusing on prime locations was devised, along with new branding and omni-channel capabilities.
Within 2 years of "pausing" its rushed actions, same-store sales rebounded to pre-expansion levels. Liquidated assets covered debts, and the retooled approach powered renewed 5-8% annualized growth sustainably over a decade, preserving the retailer's viability. Hitting the brakes allowed re-calibrating strategy amid volatility in a way that rushed continued expansion would not have.
Case Study 2 - A Tech Company's Pause Unleashes Innovation
A software firm achieved success with its flagship product, but markets were evolving. Leaders greenlit numerous projects quickly to "diversify the portfolio." Within 18 months, over $150M was invested yet nothing gained significant traction. Morale suffered amid the diffuse initiatives and lack of clear direction.
A new CEO implemented an aggressive 90-day "pause" where no new efforts would begin until strategic alignment improved. Consultants helped the team meticulously map markets, competencies, resources against alternative growth paths. This exposed specific opportunities the flurry of disjointed activity before obscured—including leveraging core capabilities into adjacent verticals.
Armed with this clarity, focused internal "green shoot" projects were funded and within 6 months generated over $20M in new bookings. The patience to pause diffuse experimentation uncovered the highest ROI areas to concentrate on. Reinvigorated employees delivered 4 straight quarters of 10%+ growth, restoring confidence and investors' faith that strategic patience was paying off.
Conclusion - The Competitive Advantage of Strategic Patience
In moderation, strategic patience can bestow considerable competitive advantages to organizations willing to pause and ensure high-quality decisions:
Long-term orientation. Viewing choices through a multi-year lens leads to durable strategies that optimize stakeholder value over quick victories.
Opportunity maximization. Thorough reflection surfaces hard-to-see opportunities a reactive stance overlooks that can produce quantum leaps.
Risk mitigation. Careful consideration of second and third-order effects, alongside contingencies, reduces downside and enhances resilience.
Stakeholder buy-in. Patience builds understanding and consensus essential for long-term support of strategic moves.
Efficient resource allocation. In-depth assessments concentrate efforts on high-conviction initiatives with the best prospects.
Culture of reflection. Embedding episodic patience sets an example that high-quality decisions matter more than speed alone.
Incorporating periodic strategic "pauses" into the leadership operating system equips organizations to navigate uncertainty and changing industry conditions from a position of strength. While bold action also has its place, an "active pause" practiced judiciously enhances the quality, impact, and sustainability of strategic choices. Overall, slowing down proves an underrated way to speed progress.
References
Bartik, A. W., Bertrand, M., Cullen, Z. B., Glaeser, E. L., Luca, M., & Stanton, C. T. (2020). How are small businesses adjusting to COVID-19? Early evidence from a survey. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w26989
Fernandez, S., & Rainey, H. G. (2006). Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. Public administration review, 66(2), 168-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00570.x
Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. Simon and Schuster.
Kaiser, R. B., & Overfield, D. V. (2011). Strengths, strengths overused, and lopsided leadership. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 63(2), 89. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024470
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Macmillan.
Muehlhaus, R. (2022, May 2). Intel delays Altera deal closure to scrutinize 'strategic fit'. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-02/intel-delays-closing-16-7-billion-altera-deal-to-review-strategy
Nair, A., & Landau, I. D. (2020). Strategic patience: A novel theoretical perspective on decision making under uncertainty. Strategic Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3209
Powell, T. C., & Colin, L. (2009). Making sense of institutional complexity: Logics, actors and environments in Mexican telecommunications reform. Academy of Management Journal, 52(6), 1093-1107. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.47084747
Sull, D., Homkes, R., & Sull, C. (2015). Why strategy execution unravels—and what to do about it. Harvard Business Review, 93(3), 57-66.
Weale, S., & Citi, I. (2020, September 10). 'Strategic patience': how the UK government held its Brexit nerve. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/10/strategic-patience-how-the-uk-government-held-its-brexit-nerve
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). When Slowing Down Speeds Progress: The Case for Strategic Patience. Human Capital Leadership Review, 12(1). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.12.1.1
Comments