A 1-Minute Strategy for Making Difficult Decisions
Dear Essentialists,?
In 1982, one of America's most respected and valuable companies was in crisis mode.?
Seven people had died after taking Tylenol, a leading pain reliever manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.?
After investigation, it was found that the Tylenol contained in some bottles had been tampered with. (1)
Johnson & Johnson had fires on multiple fronts. How should they respond?
Was their primary responsibility to ensure the safety of their customers by removing all Tylenol products from the shelves?
Or should they first launch a PR campaign to try and keep shareholders from dumping their stock?
And what about the families of the victims? How should they console and compensate these individuals?
Luckily for Johnson & Johnson, they had a credo, written by former chairmen Robert Wood Johnson that listed the company's constituents in priority order: Customers are first; shareholders are last.?
Johnson & Johnson believed so much in this credo that it was engraved in stone at company headquarters.?
With their priorities clear, Johnson & Johnson took immediate action. They recalled all Tylenol products despite an estimated 100 million dollar cost. (2)?
The trade-off, of course, was the right one. But trade-offs can be difficult to evaluate in the middle of the decision-making process without the benefit of hindsight.
That is why it was so important that Johnson & Johnson knew their priorities beforehand. The decision was made easier because they had identified what (or, in this case, who) was most important. This helped them be true to their most essential priorities, even during the fog of crisis.
?
领英推荐
A 1-Minute Strategy that Makes?Difficult Decisions Easier
You can make it easier to make difficult decisions by following the example of Johnson & Johnson
The next time you have to make a difficult decision, evaluate your options through the lens of what's most important to you.
"To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for."
-?Lee Iacocca
In gratitude,?
Greg
The Greg McKeown Podcast is back with all new episodes!
Have you ever felt seriously stuck in a relationship where the harder you tried, the worse it got? Join me and special guest, Professor C. Terry Warner, as we discuss how to make progress in your most frustrating relationships.??Listen Here
(1) Judith Rehak, "Tylenol Made a Hero of Johnson & Johnson,"?New York Times, March 23, 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/03/23/your-money/IHT-tylenol-made-a-hero-of-johnson-johnson-the-recall-that-started.html
(2) Michael Josephson, "Business Ethics Insight: Johnson & Johnson's Values-Based Ethical Culture: Credo Goes Beyond Compliance,"?Business Ethics and Leadership, February 11, 2012, https://josephsoninstitute.org/business/blog/2012/02/business-ethics-insight-johnson-johnsons-values-based-ethical-culture-its-credo-goes-beyond-compliancer-than-compliance-based-rules-culture/
????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????? ?????????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????????? ????????????????? ???????? ????????????
2 年A very helpful article! I struggle in decision making especially when it is difficult to decide. I keep on getting myself confused about what my top priority is and it always ends up with not being able to decide which to do first. Glad to have read this and will try to write down first from top priority to least. And hope this would help me decide faster,
Vice Chairman | Passionate about creating wealth responsibly | Supporting businesses that achieve above market rate returns whilst delivering positively on the environmental and social aspects
2 年Greg McKeown Priorities?help you identify what's truly needed in your life, versus what someone else feels is important. A lot of times in life we do what we feel is urgent. We will go so far as to put off what we really need to do in order to take care of the urgent things.
AI Certified Consultant | Expert Educator | I help Executive Assistants create AI-powered teams in 90 minutes to manage marketing and operations while protecting your company's voice.
2 年It's really important to know how decision making works. Worth reading article here, Greg McKeown. Thanks for sharing!
Co-Founder at hashtag.domains
2 年Greg McKeown, the second link, the one from Josephson Institute, is broken. It would be great if you could help us with a fix on that. Thank you for all that you do.
Senior Sales Executive & Principal @ Turley Mediation Group | Workplace Conflict Resolution
2 年This was a terrible crisis to live through in Chicago with our large extended family top of mind. I remember J&J's exemplary actions.