Ever wondered, why is an Orange light present on every traffic signal, along with the Red and Greenlight? This is for a purpose – it is for us to pause, think, anticipate, ponder and then ‘Go’ at the Greenlight.
When I applied this analogy to our day-to-day life, it really appealed to me, and I learned an important lesson. In all our decision making that we do, we all unknowingly use this approach and tend to make wiser decisions. It often helps even in crisis situations, if we introduce this element of ‘Pause’ to signify a stationary element, in our thought process. It acts like a catalyst, that nourishes the dynamic action element, and results in a superior decision, to help us benefit from it.
It is always useful to pause, ponder and then decide, so that a harmonious and holistic approach is taken, considering all the elements that affect the situation.
Even in every manufacturing industry, in spite of having all the in-process controls to render useful and vital data to process owners, there are gaps and unknowns, that have often a greater influence on the decision making. The above-referred strategy of “Pause….and Go” comes handy to ensure that all such misses could be avoided, and a comparatively enhanced decision making or conclusion could be made. There are multiple examples that demonstrate the fruits of such a strategy – in fact, we have seen this to be a culture in numerous organizations. To translate this strategy into an organization-wide habit or culture, there needs to be a structure accorded to it, such that it is well understood by everyone involved. This takes some additional effort and initiative but it is worth doing it.
Avoiding this approach is analogous to completing the activities in a hurry, which certainly would enable a higher efficiency but may not yield into higher effectivity. Usually, the new joiners in an organization and the younger population is averse to an approach of “Pause…and Go” since it means a longer cycle and time period. This is one of the reasons that it often becomes difficult to align everyone in this format. They need to be trained not to follow shortcuts and develop an aptitude for maintaining balance as well as strengthening their persistence so that they could utilize the “Pause…..and Go” discipline.
Even in the game of Cricket, we see that the “Review” is a procedure used while concluding on indecisive appeals by the players. We have seen the results of this approach in almost every match of this sport. This process is akin to “Pause….and Go”.
