[February 06, 2014] “Just do something,” is a common catchphrase we hear frequently from leaders. I think a better quote would be, “Just do something, anything at all.” Some people believe that any action is seen as better than no action, irrespective of whether the action is beneficial or damaging.
Frankly, this is not leadership. It’s a sign of desperation of a poor leader and it is a sign of overreaction to something. It is poor leadership because it is not proactive. There is a lack of planning and preparedness when we see it occur.
It is true that we see it often from our political leaders and, the higher the level of leadership, the more we see. Perhaps this is due to the media scrutiny. Regardless, “just do something” is not a successful philosophy or a good problem solving technique. At all levels of leadership we should be methodically making decisions, not reacting to today’s fad.