More support for inconsistency

Fast on the heels of last week's discussion of inconsistency is a post from Joel Gascoigne outlining his own rich history of inconsistency and attendant success, where he takes the lesson a step further:

If you’re part of a startup, I believe that your success might actually be defined by whether you are willing to be inconsistent. This means that actually changing your mind is not just a good trait as Jeff Bezos has mentioned, but “staying consistent” might actually be the reason your startup fails.

For a startup, the benefits of mental flexibility may be more immediately obvious and measurable than for larger organizations, but, and I don't think Joel is implying otherwise, it is just as critical in the leaders at Fortune 500 companies.The part that I think often goes unmentioned is that you should dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to your convictions. Just allow yourself the room to change those convictions from time to time.