Execute

Organizations that sit tight tend to get verry comfortable with sitting, and they don’t move when they need to move. They want proof that the direction is the right direction, they study it, consider it, test it, and the next thing you know, they are fourth in a three-person market.

Those are words from a recent blog post by Seth Godin. His point is actually a simple one; don’t flit, don’t get into waiting mode. What’s important is to keep executing in pursuit of a vision to believe in. My experience tells me much the same. Yes, you need to listen to people and be somewhat pragmatic, but that is part of execution, but you should set yourself targets and do your level best to achieve them. I equate this to agile programming paradigms. Your market, your customers need to validate what you’re doing, and you need to set a master goal and several shorter, more achievable goals and keep making them.

And lest you think this is about being successful in business, I would wager that this is something you need to do for any kind of professional activity, including research.