Success Demands Decisive Decisions

Every day, you are faced with numerous decisions. Some decisions are mundane, such as what you are going to wear; other decisions are life-changing or life-threatening.

Society celebrates others’ abilities to make decisions quickly. Could you imagine having indecisive firefighters, police, doctors and airline pilots? Of course not!

But every day, you meet individuals who not only frustrate you, but also lose credibility when they can’t make a decision.

If you want to be successful and a leader of individuals who follow and respect you, you must have the quality and character of being decisive and of making a decision, period. (By the way, was that last statement written in a decisive manner?)

Everyone reading this article is a leader. Yes, everyone! You are a leader at some level with someone. It could be at home as a significant other and/or parent. It could be at work, as a volunteer, etc. And certainly, you are responsible for the leadership of your own life-fulfillment and your purpose. Your success is linked to your ability to make decisions. No exceptions!

In his classic book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill conducts analysis of over 25,000 men and women who had experienced significant failure. Lack of decision was one of the major causes. Procrastination, the opposite of decision, is something almost all of us must overcome. And one more dynamic of decision making must be mentioned:

Successful individuals (everyone I reviewed) had the habit of reaching decisions promptly, and changing these decisions slowly. People who fail to be successful, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions very slowly—if at all—and of changing these decisions quickly and often.

—Napoleon Hill

Your success depends on your ability to make decisions and your ability to stand by them and not go back often to change them. This does not mean you will never reverse a decision, but if you do, frequently, you will not be respected or trusted by others. They will just wait for you to change your mind (again!).

You cannot be a decisive decision-maker if your decisions are mostly based on public opinion. Yes, everyone should seek feedback and others’ opinions, but if you can only make decisions when influenced by others, you will have no desire of your own.

Every group of individuals will have some kind of opinion. But opinions are a cheap commodity. If you run your life via committee, you are destined for disaster. Decisions in the end must always come from the decision-maker. You must be able to keep your own counsel and be clear about your values. Be confident in your decisions, and be healthy mentally, emotionally and physically to make decisive decisions.

An example: Years ago, I was elected to the board of my children’s private school. I must admit we inherited a mess. The previous board would not make any difficult decisions. They procrastinated. They wanted to be liked and popular instead of leaders called upon to make decisive decisions. The result was moral, emotional and financial bankruptcy.

The new board (all but one of the previous board members resigned) was a decisive decision-making group. To save the school meant making difficult and, in some cases, unpopular decisions, including laying off staff, firing incompetent staff and changing the entire way the school was being led. If we had listened to popular opinion, we would not have made those difficult decisions―and would no longer have a school.

Of course, the individuals with the loudest negative opinions left the school. We stood by our decisions. No popular opinions were going to change what we felt was the right leadership decision. Our group did our research, gathered the facts and reviewed them, and then decided—quickly.

The results were nothing short of miraculous. The atmosphere in the entire school was never so positive. The staff communicated and cared for one another and were supportive and open. The new school situation was achieved in less than eight months of decisive decisions, which overcame more than five years of procrastination, decisions by popular opinion and simple neglect.

Being indecisive drains your energy and leaves you weak, both emotionally and physically. A mind-made-up brings tremendous extra energy and power.

So, how decisive are you? Has your success been compromised by your indecision or decisions that you make and change quickly?

If I asked your close colleagues and friends, what would they say about this characteristic in you?

Making decisions and being decisive is a choice, though it can be more difficult for some than others. I have found in many years of coaching others that a significant percentage of individuals do not know where to start. Their whole life has revolved around reacting to others’ opinions and being burdened by their own lack of decisions.

If that is your case, your most important decision is to learn how to make decisions that fit you, your purpose and path. Many individuals want to figure out the formula to make quick and correct decisions. To help you on this path, let me suggest three options:

1. You want to ensure you limit and avoid the wrong decisions. To do this, you need to make values-based decisions, not content-based decisions. You first must establish, confirm and own your core values. (Or, the organization confirms the organizational values.) If you cannot verbalize or list the core values that influence your decision making―at once, with absolutely no hesitation—you will not be able to make consistent, decisive decisions.
2. Your confidence level will highly influence your ability to make and keep your decisions. To maintain your position (decision), your self-worth must be strong and high.
3. Your stress and health level will affect your ability to make sound and grounded decisions.

Many years ago, when I was introduced to CRG, three powerful assessments helped me with my decision-making abilities. If you want to improve your decisiveness, those assessments can help you, as well:

• The Values Preference Indicator will help you determine your top values and assist you to compare the values you might think are important to those that are actually important to you.
• The Self-Worth Inventory (SWI) will help you determine your confidence and self-esteem in six primary categories. Confidence is situational; there can be areas in your life where you are very decisive and other areas where you are not. The SWI will help you to determine this.
• The Stress Indicator and Health Planner will take you through an evaluation of five critical health and stress areas in your life. If you can’t decide whether or not to take these assessments, what does that tell you about your decision making?

Successful individuals, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions quickly.

Action Steps

1. Lack of decision making is one of the major causes of failure.
2. How do you make decisions—slowly or quickly?
3. After you make a decision, do you keep it, or do you constantly change or reverse your decisions?
4. Do you rely on others’ opinions to make your decisions, or do you keep your own counsel?
5. Are you able to make unpopular decisions and feel comfortable when you do so?
6. Are you clear about your core values required for decisive decisions? If not, take the Values Preference Indicator to confirm your core values. (Now available as a full eCourse - https://courses.crgleader.com/what-do-you-really-value/
7. Do you doubt your decisions and constantly second-guess yourself? If so, take the Self-Worth Inventory to establish your confidence level in six categories. Review where you hold your ground and where you do not―and why.
8. Is your overall health and stress level affecting your decision making? To confirm this, take the Stress Indicator and Health Planner to establish your health and stress in five areas of your life. Determine whether your physical and mental condition is affecting your decision making.
9. Own the fact that your success is determined by your ability to make decisive decisions.
10. Develop the habit of making decisions, establishing your core guidelines and taking your own opinion seriously, and others’ opinions second—or not at all. If you are already thinking about excuses for why you can’t, I think you have a clear outline of your condition.
11. Just do it! Get started now. There is absolutely no honor or value in procrastination.

Until next time, keep Living On Purpose!

Ken Keis

About the Author:

Dr. Ken Keis, is a foremost global authority on behavioral assessment strategies and processes, and an expert in leadership, purpose, and wellness. He has authored over 4 million words of content, including 500 articles, 4 books, and a dozen assessments to help others realize their full potential.

President and CEO of Consulting Resource Group International (CRG), Dr. Keis has worked with many high-profile companies, associations, and industry groups. In the past 30 years, Ken has conducted more than 3,000 presentations and 10,000 hours of coaching and consulting. He is a highly sought-after author, speaker, trainer, media guest and also host of The Secrets of Success Podcast with Dr. Ken Keis.

His latest books, Why Aren’t You More Like Me?, Deliberate Leadership, and The Quest For Purpose!

To learn more on how Ken or CRG can serve you go to www.kenkeis.com and www.crgleader.com .

Checkout Dr. Ken Keis' Secrets of Success Podcast https://soundcloud.com/crgleader

OUR NEW eCOURSE IS AVAILABLE, What Do You Really Value? Watch the video below!