Raising by default

In cards, raising is when you increase your bet. 

It’s a move you make with intention because you believe in your hand, and you want to play it through.

Good poker players will fold 70-80% of their hands.

In business, you want to raise on a winning strategy.

But more often, we raise on whatever hand we’re dealt.

By keeping people on our team, because they’re already there.

By continuing to maintain and improve a feature, because we already built it.

By keeping the marketing budget pointed at the same ads, because that’s what we did last month.

Does that person still belong on your team?

Does that feature still deserve your time and resources?

Are those ads driving the performance you need from them?

If you’re not asking those questions, and adjusting your decisions based on the answers, then you’re raising by default. Every month that goes by, you’re committing more and more of your resources to that hand.

Sometimes, the best move is to fold.