Process Matters

The most interesting decisions are the ones for which the results don’t show up until much later. It’s not like choosing something to watch on Netflix. That’s easy because the feedback loop is really tight. You’ll know in a few minutes if watching Lincoln Lawyer, Season 3 was a “good decision.”

Changing jobs, moving across the country, investing in a company, building a facility—these decisions are hard because the feedback loops are long. You don’t get to see the outcomes for years, and even then, when is the right time to pass judgment?

In cases like these, the only way to be sure you have “made a good decision” is to use a process.

You don’t want to miss anything obvious.

You don’t want to do anything dumb.

You don’t want to do more than you need to.

That’s why you need a process.

And, if you want others to come along for the ride, you need to show them not just what you decided but how it was decided. Pro tip: Make your process transparent to the people involved.