Technology Management and the Gilligan's Island Syndrome

Worried About Making the Right Technology Decision?

Some people are always looking for the right time to buy technology, and for them, now is never the right time. They worry that price drops are just around the corner. They worry that new technology will make their new tools obsolete too soon.

Technology is a fast paced business, price drops are always around the corner, and new tools that make your purchase obsolete are inevitable. Don't  let fear of making a bad decision slow you down, or prevent you from making a decision.

The Gilligan's Island Syndrome

The premise of the 1960's television sitcom "Gilligan's Island" is a charter boat is on a "three-hour tour" and runs into a tropical storm and gets shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. What was meant to be a "three-hour tour" turns into a life long adventure.

In the business world many companies suffer from "The Gilligan's Island Syndrome." That is when a decision that should take three hours, turns into a life long adventure. The "Gilligan's Island" television sitcom was a funny show, and was of course, fictional. For many businesses, "The Gilligan's Island Syndrome" is very real, and very sad.

Paralysis by Analysis

A mental affliction which sometimes develops in an individual after prolonged exposure to the "The Gilligan's Island Syndrome" is "Paralysis by Analysis." This affliction is characterized by the constant need for information in any and all decision making.

Sadly enough "Paralysis by Analysis" becomes the negative mechanism for justifying no action being taken, under the misguided philosophy that you can't make a wrong decision if you make no decision.

There's a big difference between going with the flow and being too paralyzed to go anywhere. It is fine to gather information, but true leadership is about being decisive, coming up with a firm decision and sticking with it.

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." — Albert Einstein