The phrase “The cost of doing nothing” is common in finance and climate crisis debates, but it sparks ideas for me in other areas, both personal and professional.

On climate, the tone is alarmist—and likely with reason—arguing that if we do not act urgently, the problem doubles every few years until no force can stop it.

It is about “bad” inertia: once the train picks up too much speed, we cannot stop it from the platform with bare strength.

We—at our software and tech product company—felt that negative inertia hard when in 2024 we billed 20% fewer projects.

We could do nothing beyond trimming variable costs and carrying on.

But we did not. We chose to analyze, sought outside advisors, and started a plan with no guarantees to:

• Become experts (study as much as we can) in new technologies tied to software, tech, and AI.
• Put ourselves out there far more on LinkedIn, conferences, and events.
• Offer training and tools to the whole taniwa team (employees or not) through daily nuggets and assorted copilots on practical topics.

Our primate brain threw everything at us to defend the Darwinian strategy of “stay put, kid—so far you are alive; do not change or you will blow it”:

• Becoming an “expert” is very hard, and all the opportunists with megaphones will make so much noise you will not be heard.
• Showing up on social is for vain or shallow people. Plus, you will feel embarrassed and might mess up.
• People will get sick of your nonsense.

The idea was:

We are older, it is harder to land projects, and we do not know if we will make it, but in one year we must be a better version of ourselves as a company and as individual professionals. Even if everything collapses, we will be a bit better.

That is the plan we followed, and we are in a better spot.

We have more projects (we have work; we are not rich), more good contacts, and more experience in tech and communication.

On the personal side, I see the same applies: figure out where you want (or do not want) to be, make a plan, weather the storm of primate anti-movement thoughts, and take action.

Depression—though I am no psychologist—often brews in those “do not move, what is the point” moments that may have evolutionary value sometimes but make little sense in our world.

This new season we are swamped with work. Swamped but happy.

Let’s go!