Wharton professor Len Lodish used to say "It's better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong". That thought has helped me prioritize things for a long time and keep my eyes on the big picture. It's probably even better to think in terms of "Get vaguely right, then precisely right."
Think about playing a golf hole. All that matters on your first shot on each hole is generally to get it vaguely right. As long as you get on or near the fairway, it's not going to hurt you. Not true when you're putting. Unlike horshoes and dancing, close doesn't count. The ball has to go into the hole and stay there.
It's not a bad way to think about onboarding.
- Before day one and on day one, think about not being wrong. There's no prize for being right. Indeed, being right probably makes it harder to jump-start relationships.
- In your early days, get vaguely right. Learn the protocols and idiosyncracies.
- Then, after you've got people aligned around your imperative, dial up the precision to manage operational excellence.
