Powerful principles. Practical application.

Seth Godin says there are three different time-frames in which you can address a problem:

1. 1. Before the problem occurs. – Avoiding a problem with foresight and good design is a cheap, highly leveraged way to do your work.
   2. As soon as you realize there is an existing problem. – Extinguishing a problem before it gets expensive and difficult is almost as good, and far better than paying a premium when there’s an emergency.
   3. After it becomes an emergency. – The magic of margin (a little extra time in the chain, a few extra dollars in the bank) is that it gives you the resources to stop and avoid a problem or fix it when it’s small. The over-optimized organization misunderstands the value of slack, so it always waits until something is a screaming emergency, because it doesn’t think it has a moment to spare.

Fretting about an impending problem, worrying about it, imagining the implications of it… is worthless and does no good.

Action is almost always cheaper now than it is later.