Decisions, Decisions, Decision. WE are making decisions daily; some small and some life changing. The key to decision making is to DO IT… Make the decision get off the fence and move on. Do it, deal with it and move on.
How many of you are thinking … it just isn’t that easy and you are right. I am not saying it is always easy to make decisions but as a Leader we have to learn how. Being decisive is an ‘Ability’.
Leaders develop the ability to be decisive; they learn how to make timely decisions through experience. They have learned that Not making a decision can lead to missed opportunities.
You must live in the present, launch yourself
on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
Fools stand on their island of opportunities and
look toward another land.
There is no other land; there is no other life but this.
Henry David Thoreau
People often hold themselves back because they are afraid of making a mistake. WE procrastinate because we fear the consequences of the wrong decision. The reality is that at times we do make mistakes in our decision-making; we are only human. I feel I am a fairly decisive person but what I have come to realize is it is easier for me to make a business decision than it is to make a personal one.
I have been house hunting for over a year and still have not bought a house. I have found some I liked but rather than decide I have gone back and forth asking myself all sort of ridiculous things that really did not matter in the final decision.
I also have gotten caught up in asking everyone’s opinion as to whether I should or should not buy a particular house. So here I am over a year later and I still have not acted on my dream.
How many of you know in your heart what you want but for some reason are not getting any closer to the outcome you want because you have not made a decision?
Being decisive means we choose a direction and then we take action on it. Sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to make that decision and sometimes it is just a matter of letting go of what is comfortable and familiar. I decided to compare why I am so much more decisive in business than on personal matters and I came up with the reason being that I follow a process when it is for business. It all came down to a process.
Let me share the 6 Step process in making a decision that I use.
- Use the Benjamin Franklin Method for Decision Making …..Ben Franklin suggested that you take a sheet of paper and divide it by drawing a line down the center of the sheet to create 2 columns. Heading one column PRO and one column CON. Then after taking some time to think it over, write in the PRO column all the benefits of deciding on the outcome you want for that particular choice. On the CON side write all the elements that are not of benefit to you if you make that choice. After you have listed about 10 things in each column. Look at both the PRO column and the CON Column and you will be in a better position to determine if that decision is of benefit for you to do it.
2. Create a deadline for the decision to be made …A deadline in many cases forces us to better focus on the decision. There is no time to procrastinate; we have to make a choice.
- Take a risk …let go of the fear of failure or the need for approval. Maybe even giving up ‘playing it safe’.
- Practice … make decisions daily on small and easy things. Example; “Do I print the newsletter on white or colored paper?” “Do I check my emails first or make phone calls?” For some of us just deciding what to have for dinner is a big decision.
- Focus … narrow down the decision to only a few choices. WE often avoid making the decision because we are looking at too many options so limit your options.
- Be confidant …You will find most of your decisions will be right on target for the best outcome. We make decisions based on our experience and our intuition; to our own self be true.
If after you have made the decision and it does not feel right; adjust it. Most of our decisions are not fatal there is usually a way to redirect. The most important thing is to just make a decision!
The great thing is that the process of making decisions and acting on them leads to confidence and strength as a Leader. It gives us a sense of freedom and a feeling of power.
PURSUE ONE GREAT DECISIVE AIM with FORCE and DETERMINATION.
– Car von Clausewitz
