Field Notes

Seizing opportunities when they present themselves is the bedrock of good fortune. 

Good leaders recognize an unusual opportunity when they see one and move aggressively to capture it. Great opportunities don’t knock twice. But opening every door is equally problematic. 

The challenge for many leaders is not their willingness to chase down an opportunity and make the most of it. Instead, the riddle to solve is what opportunities to pursue and which ones to turn down.

In the words of time management expert David Allen, “You can do anything, but not everything.” Choices must be made when so many opportunities come to the door dressed in excitement. 

Leaders who learn the skill of when to say Yes and when to say No to opportunities rely upon a simple set of criteria worth committing to memory. 

Here’s a short list of those touchstones:

• Any time a leader knows in their heart of hearts that they and the team can’t deliver or respond with quality to the opportunity, they must take a pass. 
• When opportunity will create a big distraction from the important work at hand and take the team away from the current strategy, the opportunity most likely needs to be rejected.
• In an instance where the opportunity will overly concentrate the team’s time and resources so that all eggs are now in one basket, the opportunity should be dismissed. 
• When those outsiders connected to the opportunity are of suspect character or will require unnecessary maintenance and attention, the good fortune is actually a curse in disguise. Run away. 
• If the opportunity has a short-term focus and is highly transactional without long-term benefits, it should be looked at with skeptical eyes and probably scrapped.  To paraphrase famed investor Charlie Munger, “Look for a horse with one chance in two of winning and which pays you three to one.” 

In so many cases, knowing which opportunities to pursue and which to decline defines long-term success. Becoming a good judge of good fortune requires principles that can better guide your choices. Perhaps you can add to the touchstones above. The key is to know what you’re looking for before it knocks on your door.