Read this in one of `jeggers blog posts and dug it: "You can't jump a 20-foot chasm in two 10-foot leaps."
`chadnorman

The original blog post focuses on Jana Eggers move to CEO of Speadshirt. Thanks to our friend the internet, it is easy to find earlier references, and the earliest I could find was from David Lloyd George¹:

Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.

George was Prime Minister of England during the first World War.

Incrementalism is the safe course, it is often the easier course, but I am convinced in many situations it is not the best course. However, it is hard to argue with incremental change. Our political work environments with high valuation on "buy in" value consensus over innovation. The thought is that by bringing everyone along the team will be better able to execute the innovation.

Except of course if the team is lying dead at the bottom of a canyon.

That's the image this quote evokes and it is a powerful one.

An incrementalist can argue they aren't trying to leap over in small jumps but build a bridge over the chasm. The question is how many people are going to leap past you while you are debating the style of bridge?

 

1. I did find this referenced as a "Chinese Proverb" which I don't count as an actual reference.