Some leadership traits can be taught. Others need to be experienced.

This one?

It's both.

It's also one of the most underdeveloped (and undervalued) leadership muscles in modern business:

👉 A bias for action.

A readiness to move forward when you don't have 100% of the information.
A willingness to commit, even if the map's incomplete.
A tolerance for risk and revision along the way.

In our current environment—marked by AI disruption, marketing overload, and decision paralysis—that muscle is everything.

Leaders who act imperfectly often outperform those who wait for perfection.

Why? Because movement creates momentum. And momentum reveals opportunities you can't see while standing still.

From the Battlefield to the Boardroom

This principle isn't new.

General Colin Powell described it decades ago in what he called the 40/70 Rule:

"Every time you face a tough decision, you should have no less than 40% and no more than 70% of the information you need to make it. If you have less than 40%, you're shooting from the hip. But if you wait until you have more than 70%, it's too late."

Why? Because the battlefield moves. The longer you wait, the more the situation evolves—and the solution you've spent time perfecting is now irrelevant.

I've seen this same problem play out in marketing and business strategy.
Leaders who delay a campaign until every possible risk is covered often find that the opportunity has passed. Companies that postpone a product launch until all the data is "perfect" often find that competitors beat them to market, or that the customer has moved on.

Modern Leadership Lessons—from Powell to LinkedIn

My colleague Stephane Gringer recently captured this beautifully in a LinkedIn post about AI:

"Imperfect action beats perfect inaction."

He was talking about teams stuck in planning mode—waiting for perfect prompts, tools, governance—while others are already experimenting, failing a bit, learning a lot, and moving forward. His point: motion creates momentum. And momentum, once built, can be unstoppable.

I responded by referencing General Powell's 40/70 rule. Stephane agreed, adding that in business, many leaders fear what feels like a "guess" but forget the opportunity cost of delay. And as he noted, his co-CEOs from military backgrounds brought that same mindset to business:

"You move when you know enough to make that move—
or the next decision will have more factors to consider and probably deeper consequences."

That's leadership. Not reckless speed. But decisive clarity.

But Wait… Doesn't This Conflict With the notion of "Failing Forward"?

Not at all. In fact, they go hand in hand.

To act with 40–70% of the information, you have to be okay with some failure. You have to be willing to adjust the course. To learn in real time. That's what failing forward really means—not failing for failure's sake, but learning fast and applying even faster.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about that principle through the lens of George Washington's early career, and how his setbacks weren't fatal. They were formative.

The same applies to modern business: The leaders who make failure useful are the ones who keep moving forward while others stand still.

So What Makes the Difference?

Three things, in my experience:

✅ A culture that accepts mistakes as data - not as punishable offenses
✅ A leader who models iterative, adaptive thinking
✅ A team that values momentum more than meetings

None of that is easy.
But all of it is learnable.
And in 2025? It's the difference between watching and winning.

If You're Leading Through Change…

You don't need a perfect map.

You need a compass.
A mission.
A tolerance for risk.
And a system for learning.

The rest? You'll figure it out in motion.