Initiative and Proactivity

The Black Box and Curiosity Metaphor

Initiative is defined as the ability to undertake new actions or projects of one's own free will, without waiting for external instructions.

To illustrate this, we can use the metaphor of reverse engineering: imagine an engineer in front of an unknown "black box" with several switches.

The person with initiative is the one who, driven by curiosity, starts interacting with the controls to discover which lights turn on or which mechanisms are activated, learning through direct experimentation.

In today's connected and globalized economy, financial capital or contacts are no longer the only differentiators; initiative is the most valuable asset. However, having a brilliant idea is not enough.

We can have the perfect business plan, the team and the financing ("ticking all the boxes"), but if the individual who says "go ahead" and takes the risk to execute is missing, the project remains sterile.

Initiative is the spark that turns latent resources into tangible results.

Overcoming Paralysis and Allowance

There are two pathologies that hold back proactivity: "hypo-initiative" and "hyper-initiative."

The first is paralyzing perfectionism: waiting for the ideal moment that never comes.

The second is dispersion: starting ten projects and not finishing any of them.

The balance lies in starting ("touching the box") and having the discipline to finish what has been started.

To adopt a growth mindset, we must lose the fear of making mistakes.

Think of innovative companies that pivoted their business model after an initial failure; if their leaders had not had the initiative to change course, they would have disappeared.

Failure is often an inevitable stepping stone to success.

Finally, we must reject the mentality of the "passive employee" who waits to be discovered or chosen by a superior.

The old economic model rewarded obedience; today's model rewards those who "choose themselves".

Don't wait to be given permiss