The art of urgency: act now, adapt later
Tips for cultivating a mindset that will change everything.
What does urgency have to do with validation? Everything.
At its deepest core, urgency hinges on the belief that acting now - albeit with limited information, and often admittedly starting with a skill deficit (as in, with a lower skill level than what is required to excel at the challenge at hand) - is preferable to waiting for a more favorable time.
Embracing urgency means, in essence, adopting a strong bias toward action, and committing to learn along the way.
The insights in this article are the product of my own experience, reading, and learning, and summarise what I’ve observed in successful founders and entrepreneurs around the world.
“Good” urgency and “bad” urgency
Not all urgency is created equal. You’ll probably associate the word urgency with burnout and poor decision-making. You’re not wrong - that type of urgency comes from a place of panic, fear, or a desire to prove something to others. It often leads to rushed actions without proper consideration of the consequences and, needless to say, very little progress.
On the other hand, “good” urgency pushes you to act deliberately, to learn and adapt quickly, and persist in the face of challenges.
On the other hand, "good" urgency pushes you to act deliberately, learn and adapt quickly, and persist in the face of challenges.
When I see "good" urgency at work, I observe: What are these founders doing right?
My learning so far is that positive urgency is the result of at least three more deeply ingrained mindsets, providing the pillars for its execution.
They are:
Growth mindset,
Intellectual honesty,
and grit.
A mindset for growth
The first pillar on which “good” urgency rests is a growth mindset.
Do you believe that the key components of your success are not fixed? Welcome to the growth mindset club. In here, we hold a strong conviction that practice is much more important than innate talent when it comes to developing a skill.
It's the nature vs nurture dilemma.
People with a growth mindset will place greater emphasis on the nurture side rather than obsessing over the characteristics they were born with.
I’m no psychologist, but Carol Dweck is. She popularised the concept of growth mindset, and her book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" should definitely be on your reading list if you are - or are considering becoming - an entrepreneur.
A growth mindset is essential, as it provides direction to your urgency. Urgency becomes a tool in achieving the desired growth - whether that's oriented toward building a tech startup or becoming a solopreneur.
Lightly held early ideas
This one is hard and requires constant practice. But recognising when things aren't working out (yet) is the first step toward successful pivots.
That’s where intellectual honesty comes into play. It allows founders to keep their egos in check, without chipping away at their confidence. By separating failure from self-worth, your focus can shift to learning from the experience and initiating the next steps.
In the startup world, pivoting is a common occurrence. Most tech giants had a pivot or two in their early days. Take X, for example. It started as an idea for a SMS service enabling a small group to communicate with each other. It was called Twttr, because the domain twitter.com was already taken. Instagram began as a location-based check-in app called Burbn before focusing solely on photo-sharing. These successful pivots were only possible because the founders were intellectually honest about what wasn't working and were willing to change course.
Intellectual honesty allows you to confront reality. Your ideas are good, but they will unlikely be perfect on the first attempt. And that is perfectly okay.
The grit to keep at it
If I could go back in time and choose my early mentors, teachers, and leaders again, I would look for grit masters.
When presented with my inexperienced work, they would probably tell me:
"Alice, I have high standards, but I know you can do an excellent job. Go and try again."
If you don't have such people in your life yet, I urge you to find them.
Because urgency alone won’t lead very far, without an ability to keep working toward a clear high-level goal. Even when this means that the low-level goals (the "how" you get there) have to be renegotiated. Sometimes constantly.
The final pillar of “good” urgency is a combination of perseverance and directed effort, plus ongoing analysis of results and optimisation of how you spend your time and energy.
The bottom line
I hope this read has inspired you to reflect on what mindsets will power your validation journey, and make it a fruitful one. By planting the seed, we can become more intentional about directing our thinking, attitudes, and actions in a positive direction.
Here are some resources for you to check out:
So, will you embrace “good” urgency?
Happy validation!