When analysis leads to paralysis

One of the classic causes of group stuckness is the paralysis of analysis. This is fueled by an operating assumption that if we better understood the problem, the solution would certainly emerge. Sometimes it does. Every organization, program and community on any scale has stories about how years of trying to better understand problems led to no substantial or sustainable gains. Mountains of data are just that.

No amount of blame, speculation, data or analysis can substitute for vision. Vision is our definitions of success. Only with compelling vision can we build our way to new possibilities. Intractable problems that resist analysis require vision target than analysis conversations.

In some contexts, even solving problems doesn't necessarily bring about the future we want to see. It takes instead the creative collaborations of vision and realizing vision in continuous iterations.