A clusterfuck. The perfect combo for failure.
To avoid it, start Thinking Like A Diver.
Clusterfuck [diving].— A hectic situation where too much is happening at once.
It causes stress and can lead to uncomfortable situations for all parties involved in said clusterfuck.
Underwater, it increases the risks to everyone involved —the diver himself and the ones diving along with (in so many different ways).
Losing control of a situation means moving faster (causing fatigue), wasting oxygen, lose of orientation… you get the picture.
How do you avoid it?
- You stop what you’re doing.
- It’s a full stop. Stop.
- Assess the situation.
- Assess your responses.
- See if you can fix it.
- Ask for help to fix it.
- No fix? Stop the diving.
- Re-surface.
- Fix the problem.
- Start over.
- Still no fix? End the dive.
No judgement. The dive ends and that’s what happens. You can get back to it once it’s been solved.
My question to you
How many times have you stopped everything to reassess to start over? Intentionally.
A vast majority of businesses live either at the edge of or in the middle of a constant sleeping clusterfuck… waiting for things to blow.
And even when drowning, they keep moving: wasting oxygen, visibility, energy, resources, control —and calmness.
The perfect combo for failure.