99% “in” rounds down to zero
At one of my companies, The Confident Clinician, I’ve had the pleasure of watching thousands of clinicians make decisions. The decision to join. The decision to upgrade. The decision to take advanced training. Even the simple decision to show up to live calls is a decision.
Through hundreds of conversations, I’ve listened to health care business owners and clinicians say the phrase:
“I’m 99% in, I just have a couple more questions.”
Here’s the thing: 99% in rounds down to zero.
We use the phrase 99% to make it sound like the other side- the investment we’re making or the coach we’re about to hire has 1% more convincing to do. One more question about payment plans. One more question about the time of the calls. One more question about coupons.
Saying you’re 99% in pushes the responsibility of the decision to the other side. It absolves you from leaning in fully, and it gives you an out if your doubts continue.
Here’s something to consider, and a strategy that will save you from delaying decisions (either as a yes or a no).
Round 99% down to zero.
If you are 99% sure the investment is a yes, and still say no, you’ve made it about the other side, and not about your lack of belief in yourself. If you say no, when you were “so sure” you were going to say yes, you’ve let a small detail, a small emotion or a small obstacle turn what was seemingly the right decision into a no. If your 99% sure turns out to be a no, remind yourself you were zero percent in.
For high-achieving people, 1% uncertainty is a luxury. Usually the number is greater than that, so if you’re letting 1% be the reason, you’re not ready for the next level at all (hence being 0% in).
If your 99% sure turns into a yes anyways, it might be more detrimental. At least with a no, you aren’t straddling both worlds of yes and no moving forward. You chose no. If you choose yes, but remain 99% sure, you might as well have said no.
When I watch health business owners “try” with their 99% attitude, here’s what shows up:
Distraction. They still get distracted by other ideas because they let the 1% uncertainty remind them that there are other choices out there, and they continue to wonder what would happen if they had made the other choice.
Showing up differently. If you’re not all in on your ideas or investment, everyone can sense it. You might be saying yes with your words, but your eyes, heart and eventually actions reveal your true feelings. It might show up as a subtle stopping strategy like saying “yes” to a new idea, but saying no to paid ads to show it off, or saying yes to a new project, but no to hiring someone to help you execute it. You show up differently when you aren’t all in. Even 1% doubt changes how you behave.
Delaying decisions. The first yes was just the first yes. Typically when we embark on a new project or level of operation in our business, the first yes, investment or hire is just the first yes. Progress requires hundreds of yeses and when founders are 99% in, they delay making decisions that would have made the idea or project successful. This often leads to a self fulfilling prophecy of unsuccessful projects reinforceing that you shouldn’t have said yes in the first place.
Seeing the negative instead of the opportunity. When we’re even 1% unsure about ourselves, we see obstacles and challenges as negatives instead of opportunities. We also see the entire situation through a more negative lens. That 1% infects your perspective and keeps you looking for reasons why your ideas won’t turn out.
The difference between 99% and 100% isn't the absence of doubt. It's what you do with it. Being 100% in means you've stopped renegotiating the original decision every time something gets uncomfortable. You can change tactics, adjust the plan, ask for help and respond to new information without reopening the question of whether you should have started at all.
That's particularly important in healthcare entrepreneurship, where certainty has been rewarded throughout our careers. Business rarely gives us the same luxury. We often have to commit before we know whether something will work, and then create the conditions that give it the best possible chance.
For clarity, being 100% in doesn't mean being 100% certain. Those are different things. You can question whether an idea will work, wonder whether you've chosen the right strategy, or feel uncomfortable about the investment you've made and still be fully committed to finding out. Certainty is rarely available to founders.
You don't need 100% certainty. You need 100% commitment.
