Bikeshedding at Startups

The Hidden Drain on Productivity

What Is Bikeshedding?

Bikeshedding, a term derived from Parkinson’s Law of Triviality, describes the tendency for individuals or teams to spend excessive time discussing minor or trivial issues while neglecting more complex, high-impact matters. The concept illustrates how people often fixate on simple decisions that are easy to understand rather than addressing critical, challenging problems that require deep thought and expertise.

The term originates from British naval historian C. Northcote Parkinson’s 1957 book Parkinson’s Law, in which he presents a hypothetical example of a committee discussing plans for a nuclear power plant. Instead of focusing on the highly technical and complex aspects of the plant, the committee becomes engrossed in debating the design of a bicycle shed — something that is far simpler and more accessible for everyone to have an opinion on. Thus, the term “bikeshedding” was born as a metaphor for the misallocation of time and effort toward unimportant matters while neglecting more pressing decisions.

Bikeshedding often occurs because people naturally gravitate toward topics where they feel knowledgeable and confident. In doing so, they avoid confronting ambiguous or difficult challenges that may be outside their expertise. In…