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The Cost of Waiting: When Small Decisions Compound
Upcoming Event
📅 January 27 —Live on LinkedIn
Kim and Hal go live with Rob Belfield and Jon Stevens to dig into the real questions operators are wrestling with right now—no panels, no polish, no platitudes.
---Â
This event is for you if you are:
- A displaced Big 4 / consulting professional
- A fractional COO, CFO, or senior operator
- A small business owner who needs real implementation help—not more decks
Just say:
“Tell me more about the BMS Licensee Model.”
✦ DM Kim Lewis Howard on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-lewis-howard/
✦ DM Hal Howard on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/halhoward/
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The Cost of Waiting: When Small Decisions Compound
Most small business owners don’t fail because of one baddecision. They stall because of hundreds of reasonable delays.
In this episode of Small Business Big AI, Kim Lewis Howard and Hal Howard break down the hidden cost of waiting—and why “fine” is one of the most dangerous signals in business.
This is not an episode about hustling faster or chasing tools. It’s about how small decisions, postponed again and again, quietly compound into lost margin, lost position, and fewer options down the road.
If you’ve ever told yourself “I’ll get to that next quarter”—this conversation is for you.
Â
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why waiting feels safe—and why it’s rarely neutral
- How small, postponed decisions quietly compoundinto strategic drift
- The difference between strategic patience and comfortable avoidance
- Why decision velocity often matters more than decision size
- How one two-hour decision created $36,000 in annual savings
- What operators miss when “everything is fine”
- The real human tension behind automation, efficiency, and AI-driven change
This episode is grounded in real operator experience—fromrunning automobile dealerships and insurance agencies to making high-stakes decisions with real people on the line.
The Core Idea
Most operators think risk comes from acting too fast. In reality, the bigger risk often comes from waiting too long. Waiting delays learning. Waiting reinforces fragile systems. Waiting compounds drift. By the time clarity arrives, the math has already changed.
Who This Episode Is For
- Small business owners who feel busy, capable, and slightly uneasy
- Operators running “healthy” businesses that haven’t broken—but haven’t moved either
- Leaders navigating AI, automation, or operational change without clear answers
- Anyone who senses they’re postponing somethingimportant—and knows it has a cost
Who This Episode Is Not For
- Tool chasers looking for quick AI hacks
- Founders who want certainty before making anymove
- Anyone expecting hype, shortcuts, or motivational talk
Â
About Small Business Big AI
Small Business Big AI is a strategist-led podcast for operators who want to make better business decisions in an AI-shaped world. This isn’t a show about tools. It’s about how real businesses actually work—when time, money, people, and risk are real. Each episode is designed to help you think more clearly, decide more intentionally, and build an edge thatcompounds.
---
Music Credit: “I Am with You” by Dream Cave; EpidemicSound via iStock.com
Sound Effects: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/
View all episodes
By Kim Lewis HowardUpcoming Event
📅 January 27 —Live on LinkedIn
Kim and Hal go live with Rob Belfield and Jon Stevens to dig into the real questions operators are wrestling with right now—no panels, no polish, no platitudes.
---Â
This event is for you if you are:
- A displaced Big 4 / consulting professional
- A fractional COO, CFO, or senior operator
- A small business owner who needs real implementation help—not more decks
Just say:
“Tell me more about the BMS Licensee Model.”
✦ DM Kim Lewis Howard on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-lewis-howard/
✦ DM Hal Howard on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/halhoward/
Â
The Cost of Waiting: When Small Decisions Compound
Most small business owners don’t fail because of one baddecision. They stall because of hundreds of reasonable delays.
In this episode of Small Business Big AI, Kim Lewis Howard and Hal Howard break down the hidden cost of waiting—and why “fine” is one of the most dangerous signals in business.
This is not an episode about hustling faster or chasing tools. It’s about how small decisions, postponed again and again, quietly compound into lost margin, lost position, and fewer options down the road.
If you’ve ever told yourself “I’ll get to that next quarter”—this conversation is for you.
Â
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why waiting feels safe—and why it’s rarely neutral
- How small, postponed decisions quietly compoundinto strategic drift
- The difference between strategic patience and comfortable avoidance
- Why decision velocity often matters more than decision size
- How one two-hour decision created $36,000 in annual savings
- What operators miss when “everything is fine”
- The real human tension behind automation, efficiency, and AI-driven change
This episode is grounded in real operator experience—fromrunning automobile dealerships and insurance agencies to making high-stakes decisions with real people on the line.
The Core Idea
Most operators think risk comes from acting too fast. In reality, the bigger risk often comes from waiting too long. Waiting delays learning. Waiting reinforces fragile systems. Waiting compounds drift. By the time clarity arrives, the math has already changed.
Who This Episode Is For
- Small business owners who feel busy, capable, and slightly uneasy
- Operators running “healthy” businesses that haven’t broken—but haven’t moved either
- Leaders navigating AI, automation, or operational change without clear answers
- Anyone who senses they’re postponing somethingimportant—and knows it has a cost
Who This Episode Is Not For
- Tool chasers looking for quick AI hacks
- Founders who want certainty before making anymove
- Anyone expecting hype, shortcuts, or motivational talk
Â
About Small Business Big AI
Small Business Big AI is a strategist-led podcast for operators who want to make better business decisions in an AI-shaped world. This isn’t a show about tools. It’s about how real businesses actually work—when time, money, people, and risk are real. Each episode is designed to help you think more clearly, decide more intentionally, and build an edge thatcompounds.
---
Music Credit: “I Am with You” by Dream Cave; EpidemicSound via iStock.com
Sound Effects: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/