There is a tendency, especially within large organisations, for preparation to take so long that the relevant circumstances have completely changed by the time a task is finally carried out. As a result, initiatives tend to sink. This would be less of a problem if external circumstances were stable. But they rarely are nowadays.
Consider, for instance, how long it took most of the world’s major airlines to respond to low cost carriers. It recently emerged that Ryanair, the Irish low-cost carrier, now carries four times as many passengers in the UK and throughout Europe as British Airways. How did that happen? Because Ryanair got their skates on and just did it.
