We all know them, the people who cannot make a
decision. They cannot decide to do
anything. Maybe you have been one of these
people. You agonized over a decision
until it was too late to make it; you put off deciding anything until the
decision made itself for you. How did
that work out? Not as well as if you
made a decision, tried something, and then decided whether the decision was the
right one. You probably lost out on an
opportunity.
Maybe you were just too afraid to decide what to do; maybe
you wanted to have someone else make the decision for you. Does this make you a coward; does it make you
less of a leader? This depends on how
you look at the situation; it depends on how you evaluate yourself, but that
might involve making another decision. A
business owner or manager must be able to make decisions, react to the results
of those decisions, and adjust if needed.
Years ago, I worked in systems development and user
interface. I heard all the usual statements: “We have never tried that; we have always
done it this way; we have our way of doing that; that won’t work here”. You need to think outside of the box, be
creative, and take a chance. You may need
to step outside your comfort zone and try something that you have never tried
before. Who knows, you might like it,
and it might work better than you think.
Fact gathering is the correct step to take before making any
decision. However, you can carry it too
far, so far as to be ridiculous. Gather
your facts, look at all sides of a question, and then make the decision. Put your money down and take a shot. A well informed decision can make your
company so much better, but a decision that makes itself makes you a poor and
ineffective leader. Your staff and your
clients will evaluate your actions.
What if you make the wrong decision? Great, you just eliminated one
possibility. How many failures, or wrong
decisions, did inventors such as Thomas Edison experience before success was
found? If something that you try doesn’t
work, maybe the best decision is to shut that process down and try something
else. Maybe the best decision is to go
back to what you were doing before.
Maybe the best decision is to keep on with a new process, but with some
adjustments. Make a decision and move
forward.
What if you cannot bring yourself to make decisions and
that’s that? You cannot bring yourself
to pull the trigger. Take a long look in
the mirror and ask yourself what your employees and what your clients see. Do they see a person with whom they want to
work or do business? Do they see someone
whom they believe will not be there for them if times are difficult? What do your networking partners think about
you? Do others trust you and believe in
your ability as a business person? Maybe
you should ask them, and ask for their help.
What can you do about this problem? First, make a decision to be more decisive
and become a leader. Change your mode of
operation and take a stand when needed. Continue
your fact gathering and know when all the facts necessary are gathered. You can always continue to discuss the pros
and cons of every decision, but a leader will grasp an opportunity and take a
stand. Then continue to look at the
facts after the decision is made and adjust if necessary. Your networking partners can assist you with
this.
Once again, do you agree or disagree with these thoughts? What are your tricks to keep yourself from
falling victim to indecisiveness? Leave
me your comments, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. Just make a
decision to do so.
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