Analysis Paralysis.

People with an analytical bent are good with dealing with the present and really, really good with dealing with the past.

They are organised, they think logically and they are able to sort and interpret data (which is always based on the past or sometimes but rarely in the present).

An analyst is a real asset to any team.

However, they are their own worst enemy, when it comes to making decisions.

Making a decision (from the same root as decimate) is difficult for an analytical person and they usually choose to seek more information, or to just think about the alternatives just a little bit longer.

A decision by its nature, propels you into the future....and the future to an analyst is full of unknowns and dangers. Their instinctive fear of risk pulls them away from making decisions.

This is Analysis Paralysis.

Rather than making a decision, the analyst chooses what they consider the safest option which is: "do nothing."

They are in awe of brash, confident decision makers.

These people do make decisions quickly and push things forward dynamically. This is what they do!

For an analyst, being around these people is risky, exciting business, but if they had their way, they would slow the pace down - it's just too risky! This is just what analyst's do.

This is the magic of diversity.

The analyst's greatest strength is also their greatest weakness: they won't make decisions and that stops them moving forward.

The Taskmaster's (read: brash, confident decision maker), greatest strength; making decisions quickly, moving things forward, is sometimes their greatest weakness,

........if they fail to analyse the situation properly.

The two working together is a symbiotic relationship of great benefit.

......and when an analyst is trying to move forward and make a decision:

they need to be aware of what an analyst is like......

......and what a taskmaster is like...

.....and then start thinking like a taskmaster

......if they really really want to move forward.

A good way of doing this would be to ask the question of yourself: "What would that [name] (who happens to be a taskmaster,) do in this situation?"

That should at least give the analyst another way of looking at their situation, with the intention of them making a decision, moving forward to creating a life that they love.

That usually does the job!

Making a decision isn't that scary once you have done it! and besides: "Playing safe is sometimes the most dangerous game in town!"

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