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3 Simple Strategies for Better Decisions

by Lynnelle Bianco

In a Harry Potter movie one of the characters says something like “Our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”  The same is true in business. The decisions you make today will determine the state of your business, as well as your life, in the next year, the next 10 years, 20 years, 100 years…

Every day we make thousands of decisions, from deciding what to eat for breakfast to how to pitch the big deal.  The number of decisions and their complexity is growing exponentially, on a daily basis it seems.  To be successful it's not only about strategy, planning and implementation, it's about making prompt, intelligent decisions.  It doesn't mean being perfect, it means being smart. A good way to avoid "analysis paralysis" is to use one of three basic strategies when faced with a decision you're having trouble with.

1. The Ben Franklin system. When Ben Franklin was faced with a decision he would write a decision at the top of a page and below divide the sheet into two columns; the left for the negative consequences (Cons) of the decision and the right for the positive benefits (Pros). Try it. Write out as many Pros and Cons as you can think of and then compare the importance of what you’ve listed.
   
2. Cost / Benefit Analysis. All business decisions have explicit and implicit costs associated with them.  The challenge is to acknowledge the implicit, less tangible, long-term costs and benefits.
   
   For example making a long term investment, like a strategic planning effort, might seem like a poor investment if that analysis was based on a one-year time frame. Look out over 3 to 5 years. Consider the risks and benefits over the short and long term. What is the risk of not making the investment? What are the costs – both tangible ($) and intangible (lost time, productivity, opportunity).
   
3. Get over yourself! What you think and how the outcome affects you isn’t necessarily the best gage to use in making a business decision. Ask yourself how the decision will affect – and be understood – by other stakeholders, i.e. your clients, your vendors, your employees, the community, the environment, etc.  Believe it or not, in life and in busienss – it’s not just about you.  Look outside yourself.
   
   Ask for input. Larger company CEOs and presidents have advisors – they need input and advice. Self-employed and small busienss professionals need outside, unbiased opinions too.   (shameless plug for Bold Vision’s Ocular Forum, peer advisory groups)
   

Leaders make informed, prompt decisions; they don’t vacillate. Study the information and make a decision. Don’t second guess yourself. Track results, make adjustments along the way, looking forward – not back. Be BOLD – Make the decision.