Decisions aren’t always difficult because of not being able to predict the outcome or knowing that your decision will cause distress to someone else. Sometimes the difficulty lies in the fact that you have two very good options to choose from – each with their own benefits, and the difficulty is between deciding which path to take…
So, my question is this, what criteria can you draw on to help you evaluate your options and get that important decision made?
First of all, I’d like to caveat this article by saying there are very few decisions that are made in business that can’t be rectified if they go awry. As I often say, look for the learn, and use it for improvement.
Put trigger points in place
My previous article ‘Using Trigger Points to Keep Your Business on Track’ talks about almost automating decision making – Looking ahead at what could bring you to a point of decision and putting triggers in place so you already know what to do when you get there. For example, ‘when I reach x number of clients, I need to recruit’, ‘if my turnover falls below x amount, for x number of weeks/months I need to revise spending’.
This is a great tactic for removing the emotion from the equation, something which as human beings can cause a certain amount of procrastination.
Another great tactic for making decisions is tactical listing
You could create a ‘decision model’ containing variables such as:
- Financial considerations
- Customer impact
- Technological dependence
- Time commitment
- Ease of implementation
- Estimated stress levels.
These are just an example, I’m sure you could add others to that list. The intention is that rather than using a pros vs cons list, you can have a sliding scale of impact on each criterion.
The benefits to a decision model are two-fold…
- You can compare two potential decisions using the same criteria.
- When you recognise one criterion, let’s say finances, is impacted significantly harder than others, you can investigate ways to shift responsibility to one of the others. For example, the tech you need to invest in is too expensive, but can you source a different version, do you need to buy it all at once?
Do you have a prioritisation framework?
I’m willing to bet that like many, you’ve got a long to-do list you have to get through, and deciding what takes priority can be difficult. This is where a prioritisation framework comes into play.
- Identify what things are most important to you and defines your success – for example, is it lead generation, revenue, you, your family, your team, customers, suppliers and so on.
- Put all those things in order on a new list, from highest to lowest priority
- Now refer to your to-do list and move all the items that relate to your top priority to the top
This framework should help you stop firefighting and bring your focus back to what drives your success and hopefully helps you decide what you should be spending your time on.
My final tip for making a difficult decision easier…
Visualistion. Does the decision get you closer to the lifestyle you want? Does your business serve your ‘why’ and your overall purpose?
Try this simple exercise: Picture yourself having made a decision. Two years later, are you as happy as you’d hoped to be? Have you ticked off any items on your vision board?
I do understand decision making is actually an emotional process, especially when you have compromised to get to where you are right now. So, I hope that my advice and suggestions have given you some ways to make that process easier.
If you ever find yourself doubting a decision, here are six questions you can ask yourself for clarity, and if you need a sounding board to bounce ideas off, someone to sense-check your thinking, or someone to help you create your decision model, I’d be happy to have a conversation.