Make decisions quickly

So how can you get rid of the mind clutter and the anxiety to make better decisions faster?

We make decisions all day, every day, on things like what to wear and where to go to lunch. Which sound simple enough, right?

Except that those small decisions can start to pile up and too many can stress you out—and then we can’t make the decisions that actually matter.

So we either put it off, or we do it, distracted, and regret it later. Neither is ideal.

Good leadership is not a popularity contest. One of the most important days in my career was the day I?realized that leading well was more important than being well-liked.

Anyone who has had this epiphany know it’s a tough moment: We’ve all wanted to be the “cool kid” since our grade school days. Now we sometimes find ourselves sounding like the principal.

But our careers are filled with difficult, sometimes unpopular choices, and our success rests on how we handle them. I once heard Colin Powell say, “Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You’ll avoid the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting people who need to be confronted, and you’ll avoid offering different rewards based on different performance because some people might get upset.”

We’re tempted to postpone and avoid tough decisions and hard conversations. The great American financier T. Boone Pickens once cautioned: “Don’t fall victim to what I call the ‘ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.’ You must be willing to fire.” Decide. Act. That’s your job as a leader.

How do you find the motivation to do what you wish you could avoid?

?How do you learn to do what others don’t want to do and say what others don’t want to say?

In a nod back to that grade school analogy, I’m giving you some homework. This article will help you identify the decisions you have to make and the steps you must take in order to make them.

Ready?

The bottom line is this: Nothing changes if nothing changes .Procrastination kills leadership effectiveness today and leadership potential tomorrow. Whatever is your biggest problem now will be your biggest problem next week and your biggest problem next month unless you do something about it.

Let me offer a few other strategies to make the process easier.

Disclaimer:?The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.

Thank you...Act immediately. Although it is your responsibility to deliberate options and make educated decisions, you’ll also encounter situations in which you must think on your feet. Great leaders act with limited information. Don’t hedge! Take action using your knowledge and instincts to guide you.

Be confident. Don’t waste time and energy second-guessing yourself. Someone once told me that I have no rearview mirror. I believe that’s true: I have little desire to look backward. I make decisions and move on. You should, too.

Think payoff. Your motivation to act comes from the benefits you envision.

?Is your team morale likely to improve?

Will productivity increase?

Will you see an impact on the bottom line?

Focus on those positives. It’s like going to the dentist—you may not look forward to the process, but the outcome is highly beneficial.

Change can be hard, but uncomfortable changes often lead to breakthroughs. In every challenge lies the opportunity for growth.

One of the most difficult decisions that I ever made was leaving the organization my father led—the place I had committed 10 years of my life to.

That decision was painful and a little frightening, but it was also the move that changed my career.

Do you want to add a word or two?....

In a startup especially, it is vital that every big decision you make is within the scope of your mission. You don’t have the mental or physical resources to spread your net too wide and still succeed. So always ask yourself which option best moves you toward your mission’s goal, and then the choice should be simple.

Give yourself a timer that helps you focus on the decision rather than having your mind wander and get distracted. With the pressure of a time limit, you’ll need to get to the heart of the matter faster and collect the pros and cons quickly, which you might not otherwise do.

Decision fatigue saps focus and reduces mental energy. Hundreds of trivial daily decisions degrade our ability to focus. I try to systematize small decisions so I don’t have to sweat the small stuff—task lists and mindful habit cultivation are key. When an important decision needs making, I’m ready to give my full attention.

At some point, a leader has to wear multiple hats ?until they have a team to offload responsibility. It’s important to focus on what is in your direct control. Worrying about things outside of your control will result in delaying projects. The more you focus on what you can control, the quicker you will be at making big decisions.

Your comments........?

Most of what we face each day is similar to other scenarios we have already experienced. By understanding this, it’s possible to quickly map a range of previous experiences and their outcomes. Leverage those to arrive at the most viable decision for this case. Over time, as you continue making decisions, their speed and quality will improve.

Jeff Bezos said it best when he pointed out that there are two types of decisions: decisions you can take back and decisions you can’t. Keep this in mind while making decisions in order to move faster as an organization. If a decision can be taken back after it has been implemented, don’t waste time being indecisive. Decide, implement, evaluate and reiterate if necessary.

After running through a basic cost-benefit analysis, I call one—not five—of my smart friends in a different field who can zoom out and trim the fat off that analysis. As a company with academic roots, some of our team early on had been prone to consulting every conceivable “expert” for weeks or months without action.

Startups win by speed, not clairvoyance. When you’re trying to do something new, you won’t have 100 percent of the information you think you need; there aren’t always industry reports or best practices to adhere to, so accept that you will be wrong 25 percent of the time and try to make as many decisions as possible, followed by execution.