The Risk of Doing Nothing in Your Business

Welcome back to the Mid Market Insider!

Today, we’re diving into a decision-making bias I see business owners struggle with all the time… choosing inaction because it feels safer than making the wrong move.

We’ll talk about why “not rocking the boat” is often the bigger risk, and how avoiding action can quietly limit growth, optionality, and outcomes.

I often try to get inside the heads of business owners.

I’m interested in how owners make decisions, especially when things feel uncertain or uncomfortable.

One concept I keep coming back to is something often described as errors of omission vs. errors of commission. The terminology isn’t great (it mostly works because it rhymes), but the idea is simple:

Most people are more comfortable making a mistake by doing nothing than making the wrong decision by taking action.

And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Why Doing Nothing Feels Safer

In theory, business owners are decisive people. You don’t build a company by being passive.

But somewhere along the way, often after a business reaches a certain size, things change.

Owners start to think:

• “Things aren’t perfect, but they’re working.”

• “I don’t want to rock the boat.”

• “What if I make the wrong move and regret it?”

So instead of acting, they wait.

They don’t change the org structure.

They don’t bring in outside help.

They don’t invest in systems.

They don’t pursue a new strategy.

And they tell themselves they’re being cautious, when in reality, they’re avoiding the discomfort of action.

It’s almost like a habit of inaction that quietly sets in.

What I See in the Real World

This mindset shows up everywhere.

Owners stay stuck with customer concentration they know is risky.

They delay documenting processes because it feels like a hassle.

They avoid hard conversations with key people.

Not because they don’t see the issues, but because addressing them feels riskier than living with them.

Taking action means admitting something needs to change. And that’s uncomfortable.

A Personal Note

If I had adopted this mindset earlier in my career, I would be nowhere near where I am today.

Every meaningful step forward I’ve taken involved uncertainty. There were plenty of moments where doing nothing would have felt safer in the short term.

But almost every time, inaction would have been the bigger mistake.

A Question Worth Sitting With

So I’ll leave you with this:

Are you avoiding action because it’s truly the right call… or because doing nothing feels safer than possibly being wrong?

You don’t need to make reckless decisions.

But you do need to recognize that not deciding is still a decision, and it often comes with consequences.

In business, the mistakes that hurt the most usually aren’t the bold moves that didn’t work out.

They’re the opportunities you never acted on.

That’s all for today’s newsletter! Thanks for reading!

📅 Next Week:

In next week’s edition, we’ll be taking a closer look at how current market conditions influence business acquisitions, and why timing alone isn’t enough to drive a good outcome.

We’ll talk about what owners can control regardless of the market, and how preparation creates options when opportunities arise.

Keep building,
Nick