How many lug nuts on a car wheel are you willing to travel without?  How many gears on a road bike are you willing to ride without?  How many times are your willing to let your shoelaces break before replacing them?

The best answer; it depends on the journey and circumstance.  In a perfect world, we would purchase, fix, or replace any of these items immediately.  However, we tend to drive, ride and walk a little way before addressing the problem.  In extenuating circumstances, we travel great distances and endure long periods of time if our survival outranks the pending maintenance issue.

There are no perfect top ten lists or flow charts.  If these things existed we could replace most committees, task forces, board, and leadership teams with algorithms.  Instead, we need the human element to wrestle with the questions that matter.  Great decision-makers are capable of altering the course of a cause more than the accumulation of resources.

Never forget to think about the human element.  Otherwise, we are collecting badges and experience points as we try to advance from level to level without an understanding of how it impacts the overall mission.