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Sometimes it can be hard to know whether it's OK to try something new. A great framework to use is "Is this safe to try?"

When you start from Safe to Try it automatically shifts the mindset to "Start from Yes". When you are evaluating whether or not something is safe to try, think through these things:

• Does this cause a problem that's "below the waterline?"
• Does this cause harm today, or am I only concerned about possible future harm?
• Do I have the authority to do this?

💡Related: Have you defined the "waterline" for your company? Think of a ship — if a torpedo hits below the waterline, it sinks. If it hits above the waterline, it's damaged, but doesn't sink. People often have different & conflicting definitions of what decisions can sink the ship. Aligning around what "waterline" means is important. This framework can help you define your waterline(s): Type 1 vs. Type 2 Decisions

We often stop ourselves from experimenting because of a "fear of future fears." If it doesn't cause a problem today that's below the "waterline" of safety for your company, and you have the authority to do it, then it's safe to try — even if you have fears that it could cause possible future harm down the road.

We also often try to arrive at the perfect answer now — and pushing back if you haven't yet found it.

I'd encourage you to instead have a goal of making continual progress. Try to arrive at decisions that are simply better than where you were, even if imperfect. Start by starting. Have a culture of experimentation, learning and iteration as per Living a Culture of Retrospection. The only failure is a failure to learn. Give yourselves opportunities to learn.

What if we can't agree?

If you can't agree on the "right" answer, but you agree some options are safe to try, then practice the skill of Disagree, and commit. Oftentimes, your team may want to try two different approaches, and it's simply a matter of figuring out which one you'll try first. Have the Accountable party (as per The ARCI (RACI) Framework for Decision Making ) get your team to commit to the easiest & simplest approach first, even if they disagree. Treat is as an experiment. Learn from it, and then use those learnings to inform your next experiment. Rinse and repeat.

💡 Learn about building a Consent vs. Consensus: A Focus on Speed in Decision Making organization

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Public Link to this doc: [we'll put a spiffy shortlink URL here at some point soon]