You’re struggling to make strategic decisions. How can you build the confidence to move forward?

Becoming aware you're struggling with a strategic decision is a gift! This is an undeniable sign that you have reason to slow down to reflect and tap into the two powerful sources of guidance within each of us: reason/analysis and intuition/vision. Analytical frameworks of concepts and reasons--pros/cons, SWOT, etc.--may be invaluable. But they are only ever as good as the quality of vision and passion you bring to the picture. So as soon as a decision becomes a struggle, get in touch with your feelings to focus your vision--before diving into analysis. What do you care about around this choice? Picture ways to act, logic aside. How do these tentative visions feel? What questions do you have? Try starting your analysis from here.

Clarifier votre objectif est une étape essentielle pour prendre des décisions stratégiques éclairées. En définissant clairement ce que vous cherchez à accomplir, vous vous donnez une boussole pour guider vos actions. Cette clarification vous aide à : éviter la dispersion en concentrant vos efforts sur ce qui est réellement important. Aligner vos décisions avec la vision et les valeurs de votre organisation, assurant ainsi une cohérence et une légitimité accrues dans vos actions. Faciliter la communication de votre raisonnement aux parties prenantes, favorisant ainsi un meilleur soutien et une meilleure compréhension.

Struggling to make strategic decisions often indicates a lack of comprehensive information. In such cases, employing Competitive Intelligence (CI) can be instrumental. CI involves gathering insights about competitors, market trends, and industry dynamics to inform decision-making. By ensuring you have all the necessary information, you can build confidence in moving forward with strategic choices.

There may be some hidden fears and anxiety about the outcomes or consequences of the strategic decision. It may be useful not just to analyze and figure out the purpose but also dig deeper into the reasons behind the struggle... is it because there are a lot of unknowns, or because the outcomes may end up in failure, or because the decision might impact others negatively? Is it purely because of lack of confidence in making a choice - after all, a strategic decision is all about looking at various alternatives and choosing what appears to be the most effective. The rest of the processes will be easier if one can get to the bottom of why the struggle.

Once you have clarity on ??why??, then shift the concerns about what could go wrong to an exercise in risk management. Good strategy almost always means taking risk. You are dealing with the future and the uncertainty that is to follow, so presume you commit , and your worst scenario occurs, do you have resources to push through? To pivot? To survive? Having a culture and process that helps you know that you can handle the worst, makes it easier to quickly strive for the best.

Be the contrarian! Ask others (and of yourself if you can) to prompt questions in the "what would happen if" sort of category. If being stuck is the problem then much of that can be solved by sitting in a new and different seat and allowing the thoughts to eminate from different vantage points. There are numerous tools out there but there is also simple benefits from allowing yourself to simply think differently and creatively for a spell.

This starts with acknowledgement that your perspective is just one among many. With people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise will give different viewpoints and help broaden your perspective. Practice active listening attentively and empathetically by engaging with others. Encourage feedback from team members and stakeholders. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and refine your decision-making process. Stay informed about various industries, cultures, and trends. Empathy can help bridge gaps and foster collaboration. After making decisions, reflect on the outcomes and how diverse perspectives influenced them. Use this feedback to adjust your approach and improve future decisions.

Recueillir des points de vue variés est un élément clé pour éviter les pièges de la pensée groupale et les angles morts dans la prise de décision. En recherchant activement différentes perspectives, vous vous assurez de : ? Explorer une gamme plus large d'options et de solutions potentielles, enrichissant ainsi votre processus décisionnel. ? Réduire les biais cognitifs en exposant vos idées à une critique constructive et à des opinions divergentes. ? Renforcer l'engagement des parties prenantes en leur donnant l'occasion de contribuer au processus décisionnel, ce qui peut favoriser l'acceptation et la mise en ?uvre des décisions finales. Cette approche s'aligne avec le cadre théorique de la pensée divergente, popularisée par Alex Osborn

Gathering diverse perspectives fosters a more comprehensive understanding of the landscape, uncovering blind spots and alternative approaches. When making strategic decisions, this multifaceted insight instills confidence by ensuring considerations of various angles, potential outcomes, and stakeholder interests. Embracing diversity in perspectives not only enriches decision-making but also enhances adaptability and resilience in navigating complex challenges. #DiversePerspectives #StrategicDecisionMaking #EmbraceDiversity

. Who will be notice directly and secondary the effect of your decision, short term and long term? What positive and negative effects? Can the positive be enlarged and the negative mitigated? And the alternatives? It gives a balanced overview of the way forward.

I always work backwards and then evaluate the alternative routes taking into account: - Time - Risks - Reward - Resources required - Market conditions Once I understand all the above with the routes available, I/We will make an informed decision that aligns with the business / project. Sometimes, indecision is also a decision but I often say, if you don’t act while others are stationary then you won’t have the advantage!

Everyone in strategy should build a VC Pitch Deck, and present it to an angel or VC group at least once. From that day foreward you will think about how you propose a new / modified business path in an entirely different perspective. Viability, competitive capabilities, profitability, risk and timelines in a perspective that is defensible makes all the difference in the world in gaining consensus.

Alternatives need to be identified. Some will be duds from the start but it forces the consideration of all options, helps build consensus that the chosen option is the best and removes the ‘what if we had…’ thoughts.

Evaluating alternatives requires a fact-based, structured approach to ensure those involved in the decision-making are isolated from personal biases, and work on common grounds. - Define clear objectives that are aligned with organizational purpose and goals. - Define the sandbox and evaluation criteria for generating and evaluating alternatives. - Use sound preliminary data on each alternative, run a preliminary analysis to include / exclude alternatives and to create a shortlist. - Study feasibility, cost and benefit impact, strategic fit and risks for shortlisted alternatives. - Conduct scenario analysis to simulate alternatives, and prioritize. Iterate and refine to ensure the final choice is well-informed.

Diverse perspectives are key to ensuring that you have your input for the way forward. But now, these inputs cannot all be right. Can they? So, in this case, while I often use SMART goals (You can break down your big-picture vision into smaller, achievable milestones) and evaluate through the decision matrix to prioritize the choices, I typically use the elimination framework. Finding alternatives that don't lead me to that larger purpose and eliminating those that don't align with my immediate team's strengths is also essential. This is especially true when working in a constrained environment or when you want to challenge your current resources. Then, create a roadmap that builds confidence in the team's ability to execute.

In my experience, decision paralysis is a fairly common roadblock when one is at the helm of strategic decision making. Understanding that there's no such thing as the perfect strategy and when in the face of uncertainty, taking some no-regrets provisional decisions can truly set your team in the path of action taking. There will always be refinements in the strategy as you learn and educate yourself in the process, but unless you take these provisional decisions, you would never start on the path of continuous improvement.

Half measures rarely work in the business world and signal that the leader isn't committed to the course ahead. Provisional decisions confuse the team and waste resources. Make a clear decision and get moving in the right direction.

For many people, talking through what they perceive to be the worst case scenario can help reduce fears of taking the next step or think through “what would need to be true” in order to be comfortable to move forward.

Decision paralysis or analysis paralysis is so common in technology companies. The ability to move forward quickly and make the best decision with the information at hand is critical to success. Making a decision and agreeing on defined parameters that you can adjust your strategy within in, can enable you to move forward and maintain some flexibility. Of course this will look different depending on your industry and circumstances. Construction projects have much less malleability at certain stages than a communications plan for example.

The quality of a strategic decision is determined by its ability to move the company in the direction of its strategic goals. A company moves towards its goals if it creates more value for all key stakeholders, primarily customers. Of course, the main test of a decision's success will be its future implementation. But you can test the success of a solution by answering two questions: 1. Will the solution create more value for customers? 2. Will the solution create more value for other stakeholders, including employees and shareholders? If the answers to both questions are positive, your solution is definitely not a bad one.

Selon mon expérience, surveiller et ajuster sa décision après sa mise en ?uvre est crucial pour garantir sa pertinence et son efficacité à long terme. En adoptant une approche itérative et adaptative, on peut : ? Identifier rapidement les signes de succès ou d'échec de sa décision, permettant ainsi d'apporter des ajustements opportuns. ? Démontrer une capacité à apprendre et à évoluer, renfor?ant ainsi la crédibilité de leadership et la confiance des parties prenantes. ? S'assurer que l’organisation reste agile et réactive aux changements de son environnement.

I believe a key factor to this is not procrastinating and making decisions “quick”. As business owners there is a lot happening subconsciously for us based on previous experience and the values we wish to inspire by. If you care and listen to your staff, suppliers and customers, you will always be able to adapt and grow for the better.

You learn so much more from your failures, or partial successes, than when you knock it out of the ballpark by accident. Lessons learned sessions are the key to succeeding in the long run. I had a mentor recommend stopping after each phase an implementing a quick 3-question round-robin to grab information while it's fresh, I try to implement this whenever possible: 1) What did we intend to do? 2) What actually happened? 3) What will we keep and what will we do differently the next time? There is no judgement of good or bad here, more a documentation for moving forward.

Execution without monitoring is just not execution! Monitoring should be treated as a continuous validation for all your hypotheses used in strategy. Not always every customer will follow the flow of action ideated during strategy, customer can reach the end goal even without following the intended path and without monitoring and adjusting such analysis cannot be attained. Thus, giving you a new insight and maybe a better consumer journey which can be maximised for future projects.

Make sure there’s data that corresponds with some part of your decision. Before you execute on your decision, know what data you're going to use to track the impact of your decision. If possible, it's helpful to monitor the results in real-time. Keep in mind that it doesn't always have to be hard metrics—consider soft metrics as well (example: how much did you dread our previous process? how much do you dread our new process?) I'm thinking back to an episode in the CreativeOps podcast where Paul Nicholson and Nish Patel, the host, discussed change management tips. There was a great reminder in there for decision makers in any industry: "the project is not the change, the project is the outcome that you’re working toward."

Strategic decision making is difficult for two main reasons: 1. it is always not just a decision about the future (any decision is about the future), it is a decision about the distant future. 2. A strategic decision is always associated with novelty. It involves change and doing something that at least this particular organization has never done before. This both increases the chance of error, but also helps to develop a healthy tolerance for such errors. It is normal to make mistakes when making strategic decisions. Up to 70% of strategies are not implemented as intended.

Boosting confidence…. We all need a boost every now and again no matter how confident we naturally are. Everyone needs that #true and #genuine friend, or community who will speak truth. This friend, or small community of supporters will remind you of your success and will also provide the encouragement needed to take on the next task. It is also necessary to encourage oneself. A mental and written (keep a resume of success) reminder of your successes are always in order.

I would say embrace your passion and conviction. It is a step in the decision-making process. This perspective enriches the outlined categories by adding a deeply personal and motivational component to strategic planning and execution. Helping take that step towards a confident frame of mind.

The very best way to make strategic decisions is by boosting your confidence not only through the expertise (i.e. strengths, achievements, growth, etc) you have gained throughout your career but also, and most importantly, through support, guidance, and feedback from others in order not to be pulled down by uncertainty and ambiguity while embracing the most fascinating challenge to make your strategic decision stand out even more: complexity, the actual cherry on the life cake to elevate your potential to its fullest.

Company’s future success hinges on a clear and confident strategic vision. By focusing intensely on identifying the best path forward for the company, we can not only chart a course for growth but also ignite a powerful resonance within our entire team. This strategic focus on boosting confidence is crucial because it equips us to navigate the inherent uncertainties of execution. When we believe deeply in our plan and its potential, we approach challenges with a proactive and determined spirit. This collective confidence becomes the wind in our sails, propelling us towards achieving company’s ambitious goals.

There are several ways to face a challenge or a strategic decision, my suggestion is to create work plan that consists of several steps: 1. defining the problem/embarrassment 2. Designing the required structure and ideas for possible working paths 3. Building a theory 4. Examin alternatives/second question the theory 5. Decide on the best idea 6. Execute... During all the process i always question a doubt and if needed ...back to square one

It is essential to know that you will never have enough information to feel comfortable making hard decisions. Virtually every time I make a difficult decision, I feel like I am making it too soon. Early in my career this led to me waiting too long to move and having situations resolve without me, often in a negative way. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that "I just need this little bit of information and I can move." Often this is just a way to avoid making a decision. I now look for 60-70% of what I feel I need and then move. The cost of not making a decision is almost always worse than the consequence of an error. In the immortal words of Neal Peart "Even if you to choose not to decide, you still have made a choice!"

To build confidence in making strategic decisions, ensure you dive deep into understanding the situation. Gather as much information as possible, do your research, and don't hesitate to consult experts when needed. When weighing your options, carefully assess the risks and benefits associated with each. Consider both short-term gains and long-term implications to make well-rounded decisions. Remember, not every decision will turn out perfectly so accept that imperfection is part of the process. Embrace the possibility of failure as a chance to learn and grow. With these tips you will gain confidence over time and make more effective strategic choices.

- Time Pressure: If faced with urgency, don't let the need for speed compromise due diligence. Make the best decision possible with the time available. - Intuition: When thoroughly informed, your intuition can be a valuable guide. Hone it through experience and reflection on past decisions.

Heuristics - simplified rules of thumb or mental shortcuts. While not infallible, heuristics allow leaders to cut through analytical paralysis by applying battle-tested principles to guide decision making. Examples include the 80/20 rule, looking for minimum viable data instead of pursuing perfection, or the "three whys" to continually question the root cause. Developing a personal framework of go-to heuristics provides a consistent approach for making tough choices amid ambiguity. The key is identifying situationally-appropriate heuristics that have historically produced positive outcomes for your organization. Judiciously applying these rules of thumb can instill confidence to move strategic decisions forward pragmatically.