“Early bird catches the worm” + “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today”
vs “Look before you leap” + “Think before you speak”
Not completely opposites (I assume you are not expected to think 24 hours before you speak), but still going in the opposite direction: “act quickly” vs “be careful, slow down”.
Advantages of acting later:
more time to think about consequences, can possibly lead to better choice of words or action;
you might even realize that not doing it or remaining silent is actually a better choice here.
Advantages of acting sooner:
being the first one gives you a competitive advantage;
ceteris paribus, people who act faster are more productive.
When I put it this way, I guess the important factor is how likely taking more time will allow you to make a better choice. When different actions can bring wildly different outcomes, take your time to choose the right one. On the other hand, if the results will be pretty much the same anyway, stop wasting time and do it now.
Specifically, when talking, taking time to reflect is usually the right choice. It doesn’t necessarily improve the typical outcome, but may avoid a big negative outcome once in a while.
Problematic situations:
When there is a person you would like to approach… is it better to wait and prepare your words (risking that the situation chances, e.g. the person leaves, their phone will ring, or someone else will approach them) or act quickly (and risk making a bad first impression by saying something stupid, or just not focusing on the right thing)?
When starting a company… how much time should you spend analyzing the market, et cetera? There is a risk that you will spend the next few years doing what was predictably the wrong choice. On the other hand, markets change, you won’t get perfect information anyway, and someone else might do the thing you wanted to do first and take over the market.
“Early bird catches the worm” + “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today”
vs “Look before you leap” + “Think before you speak”
Not completely opposites (I assume you are not expected to think 24 hours before you speak), but still going in the opposite direction: “act quickly” vs “be careful, slow down”.
Advantages of acting later:
more time to think about consequences, can possibly lead to better choice of words or action;
you might even realize that not doing it or remaining silent is actually a better choice here.
Advantages of acting sooner:
being the first one gives you a competitive advantage;
ceteris paribus, people who act faster are more productive.
When I put it this way, I guess the important factor is how likely taking more time will allow you to make a better choice. When different actions can bring wildly different outcomes, take your time to choose the right one. On the other hand, if the results will be pretty much the same anyway, stop wasting time and do it now.
Specifically, when talking, taking time to reflect is usually the right choice. It doesn’t necessarily improve the typical outcome, but may avoid a big negative outcome once in a while.
Problematic situations:
When there is a person you would like to approach… is it better to wait and prepare your words (risking that the situation chances, e.g. the person leaves, their phone will ring, or someone else will approach them) or act quickly (and risk making a bad first impression by saying something stupid, or just not focusing on the right thing)?
When starting a company… how much time should you spend analyzing the market, et cetera? There is a risk that you will spend the next few years doing what was predictably the wrong choice. On the other hand, markets change, you won’t get perfect information anyway, and someone else might do the thing you wanted to do first and take over the market.
Early bird gets the work, but the second mouse gets the cheese. (From Steven Pinker, I think, not sure if it’s original)
Was thinking of the same comment. Heard it from my nephew when he was living in my house shortly after he graduated.
FYI -- https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/01/25/second-mouse/ , the quip appears to go back to at least 1994.