How To Make Decisions, Take Action, And Move Forward

To move forward, you have to make decisions and then act on them.

Any progress you make is the result of your decisions, followed by appropriate actions.

Some people find it difficult to make decisions. They put it off and procrastinate, usually because they’re afraid of making mistakes.

Others will make a decision but not follow through with action.

Saying you’ll do something without taking action is just wishful thinking. You might feel good for a while, but a week later, nothing has changed.?You haven’t made any progress.

To quote Andy Warhol, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

Make a Decision, Then Act

Everyone makes decisions in different ways. But what’s equally important is that you follow up with action. Or, as Anthony Robbins says, you take “massive action”, something that changes your situation.

Here is what works for me. See whether it will work for you.

1. First step: get it out of your head and in writing
2. Define your big goal. What is it you want to achieve? Write it out in as much detail as you like.
3. Break it down into the steps you have to take to reach that goal. This is your checklist.
4. Put your steps into a logical order. What should you do first?
5. Create a timeline for your checklist. Hold yourself accountable.
6. Do step #1. Make the decision and then act.
7. Evaluate it. Did you get the results you expected? If not, adjust the following steps where necessary.
8. Then, move on to step #2.
9. Keep going. Make a decision, act, adjust, make the next decision.
10. Stick to your timeline as much as possible.

Get Over Fear—Most Decisions Can Be Undone

Get comfortable making decisions quickly. I hear people say, “I don’t have all the information I need to make that decision. I have to do more research.” While they’re “doing research”, they’re stuck.

Here’s the truth: you’ll rarely have “all the information”. Get used to making decisions based on the information you have.

One of two things will happen:

1. You’ll get more information as you make decisions and move ahead
2. Or, once you’ve made a decision and taken action to move to the next step, you realize you don’t need that information anymore

Many times, “I need more information” is just procrastination. It’s a way of putting it off, justifying to yourself why you can’t move ahead.

Leaders Make Decisions

Real leaders make decisions.

If you’ve ever worked for someone who procrastinates or changes his mind frequently, you’ll know how crippling that can be.

An indecisive leader means everyone is waiting and frozen in place until there’s a decision.

This is true even if it’s just you leading yourself. Until you decide, you’re stuck.

Apply the Jeff Bezos Theory to Decision-Making

I read an article describing Jeff Bezos’s philosophy on decision-making at Amazon. Bezos divided decisions into two categories: “one-way doors” and “two-way doors.”

A one-way door only swings one way. It’s the kind of decision that once you make it, you can’t easily go back without great cost or turmoil.

If you’re a freelancer or small agency owner, a one-way decision might be taking on a partner in your business. Once you’ve done that, it’s difficult to undo without expenses, legal issues, and potentially breaking up your company.

So, a one-way decision deserves more time and input. But in the relatively near future, that decision gets made.

Calling something a one-way decision doesn’t give an executive at Amazon the right not to make that decision. The same should apply to you.

If you think about it though, most decisions are two-way. You can undo them. You can change your mind. Yes, there may be some costs involved, usually in time and money, but it’s not catastrophic or life-changing.

For example, let’s say you want to start using a timesheet management system. With a bit of research, you’ll find at least a half dozen that might do the job.

Sign up for two or three free demo accounts and run them through a few exercises.

Give yourself a deadline of a week, and choose one. Sure, you could take months to decide, but why?

Most of these platforms let you pay by the month, so pick one and use it for a few months.

What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t like the one you chose. But at least you will have a better idea of the features you’re looking for. You’ll probably be able to export your data and import it into another system. A little trouble but not a major deal.

The best-case scenario is that it works fine, you’ve become much more efficient, your employees know how to use it, and it’s one less thing on your dreaded To-Do List.

If you need to make decisions about streamlining your admin tasks, read this.

Decisions I Made Going From Freelance Copywriter to Agency Founder

I was a super busy freelance copywriter. I was giving away design and production work, not getting any financial benefit from it.

One day, I decided to start a bigger company. I’d never done it before.

Here are the steps I went through:

• I wrote out my vision for the company. Revised it a few times.
• I decided I wanted a design partner so we could take care of copy, graphics, and production. I’d always been paired with an art director when I worked in agencies and liked working that way.
• I didn’t know anyone that I wanted as a partner.
• I decided to expand my network by putting an ad in an industry publication.
• I got 30 responses (!). I met with five of them. I liked one much better than the rest.
• We had further meetings.
• Did a few projects together.
• We agreed to move forward and incorporated a company.
• We got a space large enough for seven people.
• We had it renovated, bought furniture, and opened for business.
• We were busy from the first day with all of our clients in this new company.

This whole process took about nine months.

The company grew from two of us to 30 and was acquired by an IT company within five years.

What I Learned Making These Decisions

I did everything in writing. Forcing myself to write helped me think it through. As I made changes, I kept earlier versions. I could always go back.

I went forward with incomplete information. Since I didn’t have a business background other than running my freelance business, I read a lot of books and magazine articles about leadership, etc.

There were no suitable partners in my network. If I wanted a partner, it would have to be a stranger. That didn’t scare me.

Amazing things happen when you put your idea out into the world. I could have just asked friends for referrals, but instead, I placed a public ad.

We had lots of meetings. Talked about everything.

We did test projects together. I wanted to be sure our ideas would work in practice.

NOTE: Everything to this point was easily reversible. There was no big risk. This was a two-way door. If this hadn’t worked out, I would have spent some time but still have my clients. I could go back without any costs.

The real obligations started when we signed a lease and bought furniture for thousands of dollars.

Once we started, word spread. We got more clients. After two years, we outgrew our seven-person space.

Luckily, our neighbors moved out. We broke down the walls, renovated, and kept growing.

Net takeaway: we made decisions, took action, and adjusted as we went.

Did we plan at the beginning to have 30 people? No. Did we plan to be acquired after five years? No. But as the situations evolved, we made further decisions.

Are you thinking of starting an agency? Here are seven reasons why you might.

Personal Decision-Making to Achieve Your Dreams

Here’s a decision that took me about 14 years.

When I was 14, I wanted to play bass guitar in a band. I had no musical education and couldn’t play the bass. I asked my parents for a bass guitar for Christmas. Nope, didn’t get it.

Fast-forward, I’m 28. I had a job, a house, but no bass guitar. I still wanted to play in a band.

Then I learned I could rent them at a local music store. Here’s where my decision-making got started.

Renting was a low-cost decision. If I didn’t like it, I could just return everything.

Next decision, buy books to learn how to play.

Decision #3, I wanted to accelerate my learning. I needed a teacher. I found one and took lessons.

One day I got a call from an “ad agency band”. They had lost their bass player. Was I interested?

We met and played together in a rehearsal space.

Soon we had gigs playing ad agency Christmas and summer parties. We even got paid!

For two years, we were the hardest-working band in the business, playing night after night. There is nothing like being on stage with a few hundred happy people dancing to your music.

Like many bands, we only lasted a couple of years before families and other priorities took over.

But, I had achieved my goal. I had a great time playing in a band. And BTW, it’s never too late.

What Decisions Do You Have to Make to Reach Your Goals?

For me, the easiest way is to start writing. Make your ideas concrete. Not just, “I want to get rich”.

What do you want to achieve, and what steps will it take to get there? Fill in the gaps.

If you need outside motivation, tell a few people about what you’re doing. Tell them how you’re going to achieve your goals. Make them hold you accountable.

Then start. Make a decision, then take action. Review what you’ve done. Take the next step. Take notes as you go and keep going.

If I can start an agency with no business background and play in a band with no musical education, I’m sure you can achieve your goals too.

Just remember, take massive action! Good luck.

There’s much more about making decisions and taking action in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.

Buy the Book Here

With over 300 pages and 23 chapters, it’s available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and?Gumroad (PDF).

Insight For Creatives At All Levels

“Hey Andy, my name is Travis Satten, and I'm a?video director/producer ?based in NYC. I just finished your book and wanted to write to share how much I enjoyed it. I've spent a lot of my career gigging but recently decided to form a proper video creative agency and found your book very helpful in shaping my mindset and focusing on the goals of the company. The book was very easy to digest and had insight for creatives at all levels.

Thanks?for putting this out in the world and helping?creative?hired hands find a way to bring their skills to market in new ways.”

Travis Satten, by email

?The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.

Want a free taste first?

Sure! Sign up here to get a free PDF of Chapter 14 of the book, Working With Clients.

Questions? On Twitter, I’m @StroteBook . DMs are always open. Ask away.