Next Down or Touchdown? 5 Factors for Choosing Your Next Move

Watching my son’s recent football game, trying not to freeze, I was hit with warm appreciation for the young quarterbacks. It amazed me that these nine-year-old kids could, in the complete chaos of the game, read and execute successful plays. I’m not sure I could do it. With players darting in all directions, opponents closing in, and the clock ticking down, the thought of processing it all, let alone deciding and acting on it, seems daunting. Yet, there they were, making plays - some big, some small, some backwards??. It left me wondering how their young minds were able to discern when to aim for the next down or when to go for the big, long pass.

As the game unfolded, it hit me, like an oncoming lineman, that these kids were honing skills we all employ in critical moments as adults. How often in life are you hit with a decision point where you must choose your next move quickly and wisely? It’s likely more often than you realize. From simple choices like whether to prepare a quick meal or deciding if it's time to attempt a new recipe or to larger dilemmas such as gunning for that significant promotion or steadily advancing in your current role.

So, whether you're a nine-year-old quarterback or a mid-career professional, here are five things to keep in mind when you're in the game, deliberating on the right play to make:

1. Don’t Lose Sight of the Endzone, but Know Forward Progress: First and foremost, you must be clear on what winning looks like for you. What’s your overall goal in this area? What are you ultimately driving towards? Second, you need to know what progress – that moves you towards that goal – looks like. Can you recognize what actions are and are not moving you towards where you want to be? Don’t lose site of the goal but be able to recognize progress too.

2. Clarify If You Can Afford an Interception: This one’s about risk tolerance. Sure, no one wants a mistake or a failure, but you need to be able to understand when and what is acceptable. If there are less than two minutes left on the clock and you’re down, an interception is probably an unacceptable risk. But if you’re got plenty of game left, maybe it is. To help you decide what move to make, you need know your risk criteria and what’s acceptable and what’s not in that moment.

3. Know Your Teammates and Field: Resource availability. Do you have the right people, with the right skills, positioned in the right places? If you’ve got an open receiver down field who can catch almost anything you throw, go for it. If everyone capable of making a play is covered, then don’t. When assessing what action to take next you must look around and figure out what you’re working with to know what your options are.

4. Read the Defense: This one is about knowing your competitive landscape. If you’re trying to decide what move to make, you need to understand the roadblocks that will be in your way, whether that’s from direct competition or from the nature of the competitive environment. Understanding and anticipating potential and likely blockers will help you make the right decisions and not end up blocked in a way you could have prevented.

5. See How Much Time is Left on the Clock: Understanding the timeframe you’re working in helps you understand how to approach your decision. If you have a lot of time to experiment and try things out, you’ll make a different set of decisions than when you’re under a time crunch and need to decide and move quickly. Factoring in time, helps you make the most practical decision for your game.

Success is often a series of small wins. Not every play needs to be the long pass to win the game, but sometimes you need to go big before you go home. As James Clear says, “When making plans, think big. When making progress, think small,” but also take into account Derek Jeter’s advice, “To be able to hit the game winning homerun, you have to be willing to strike out in the same batter’s box.” If you can think about these five factors when you’re in the throws of the game, then you’ve got a good chance at making a decision that serves you well in that moment. Sometimes, even the most well-thought-out decisions still strikeout or fumble, but if you learn from the experience and add it to your considerations for next time, eventually, you’ll score the touchdown.

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