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details and issues, while being under-analytical can lead you to jump 3 : STEP ONE – SEEKING AND SHAPING OPPORTUNITIES
the gun, unaware of difficulties or ignorant of different, and possibly
better, alternatives.

The scales of timing (reactive–anticipatory) and of analysis
(reflective–impulsive) are combined in Albrecht’s elegant model, shown
in Figure 3.1.

TIMING

Reactive Anticipatory

Impulsive Extinct by instinct Creative Burning bridges
ANALYSIS Paralysis by analysis procrastination ahead of you

Reflective zone Premature panic

Figure 3.1 Albrecht’s creative procrastination zone48

The first mining venture of Trailfinders’ Mike Gooley would probably
exemplify an impulsive anticipatory attack on a market, while many of
the early dot.com companies could be described as impulsively
reacting to the internet frenzy.

The response of media giant Bertelsmann to the opportunities of the
internet reveals the dangers of over-analysis, as its newly appointed
chief executive admitted to The Economist: ‘[For two years] we had
tremendous discussion about book retailing on the internet. In the
meantime Amazon took the market. On the internet, three months is a
year. They have two years’ start on us. That means eight or ten
years.’49

While the timing of Darryl Mattocks’ Internet Bookshop matched that
of Jeff Bezos, the intensity of Mattocks’ research and the extent to
which he generated options were much more limited. Jeff Bezos firmly
occupied the creative procrastination zone – he recognised the time-is-
precious urgency of the emerging internet phenomenon and gave up
his job so that he could immerse himself in understanding the new
market. He gave himself time, however, to generate options for the
product areas in which he was going to specialise before settling on
books in a way which was to revolutionise e-commerce.