“Do Something! I can fix wrong, I can’t fix nothing.”

When I worked for my Daddy he used to tell me that all the time. He had a bias for action.

Whenever he left me in charge he believed I was capable of handing the situation for which he’d given me responsibility. As such, when I chose not to exercise my own judgement for fear I’d do the wrong thing he’d be disappointed in me and usually expressed that frustration saying, “Do Something! I can fix wrong, I can’t fix nothing.”

When faced with similar situations where I have delegated responsibility and the person has chosen inaction for some reason, I find myself asking, “Was I not clear?” “Have I misjudged the person’s ability?” “Is this an attitude issue?”

I worked with my Dad off and on for 18 years. During that time we both got better at communicating our wishes and asking questions to clarify our expectations of each other.

Most importantly though he instilled in me a bias for action. The voice in my head saying, “Do something” serves me well. It supports Newton’s 1st Law of Motion – A body in motion will stay in motion…

I can just hear folks thinking, “What if you’re going in the wrong direction?” “What if you’re doing the wrong thing?” “What if…?”

Well, when you discover what you’re doing is not working, fix it, do something elase. But the odds are while your solution may not be perfect, you’ll still be better off trying something than sitting around waiting for the “right” answer.

Remember, the second part of Newton’s 1st Law of Motion is – a body at rest tends to stay at rest… and as a rule of thumb, bodies at rest don’t tend to get much done.

So, Do something, do Something.

Together, if we all do something, we’re going to work ourselves out of this mess.

My Daddy believed I could and I believe you can.

I believe we can.