In our personal lives, I think the old adage is true - patience really is a virtue. Having patience with your friends, spouse, and children is a way to strengthen the foundation of your most important relationships. There's not really any cost, the rewards are great, and there is very little (if any) risk.

In business though, patience can be very costly. It's not a virtue, it's an expense. This doesn't mean it's never worth the cost - but a lot of times it isn't.

If your revenues are declining, you probably need more action than patience. If a project is running off the rails, it needs a project manager that's going to fix it immediately, not someone that's going to be patient and "let the process sort things out." If someone wants to start their own business, too much patience might be what's holding them back.

The exact definition of patience is: "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset." Of course, getting angry or upset doesn't necessarily mean showing that you are angry or upset.

My point is, if you're able to accept "delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset" you are, at a minimum, paying a price for that patience.