Tag: making decisions

Making Decisions Based On Best Information

I planted some frost-sensitive plants
in the garden this weekend.

According to the weather forecast,
there should be zero chances
of frost
over the next two weeks.

That forecast could be wrong, however.
It IS a forecast,
not an absolute.

But I had to make a decision
and it is the best information
I have at this time.

We all have to make decisions
for our businesses
based on the best information
we currently have.

That information could also
be wrong.
And we’ll have to
hastily make some corrections.

That’s part of building a business.

There are no absolutes.

Make the best decisions you can
based on the best information
you currently have.

And move forward.

Accountability And Climate Change

When 1.5C was set as a target,
world leaders knew
what we’re seeing today
– the fires, the floods,
the excessive heat, the crop failures –
would happen.

(They also believed
we would lose
all of the coral reefs.)

Leaders felt those losses,
the disasters
and
the deaths were acceptable.

Today, youth
are suing governments
and winning

And they SHOULD win
because the climate disasters
we’re experiencing today
were a deliberate choice.

Governments
should be held accountable
for that choice.

As business leaders,
we should also
expect to be held
accountable for our decisions.

That is part of
leadership.

Choices After The Decision Has Been Made

A loved one asked us
to find a used car
for him.

We spent weeks
finding and evaluating cars.
(The market is TIGHT.)
We finally found one
we thought was suitable.
We told him about it.
He agreed we should buy it
for him.

Then hours later,
he sent us
several listings for cars
he was interested in.

We had already bought
the car
(as mentioned,
the market is fierce).

But he knew that.
And he knew
what he was doing
when he sent those listings.

He was setting
the situation up
so if anything went wrong
with the purchased car,
he could point to those other listings
and say he knew
we should have bought
one of THOSE cars.

He was abdicating all responsibility
for the purchase.

I recognized this
because it happens
with almost every decision.

There’s always
some jacka$$
who waits
until the decision is made
or almost made
to offer alternatives.

They don’t really want
us to choose those alternatives.
If we did that,
they would responsible for the results
and they DON’T want that.
But they also don’t want
to be responsible
for any other choice.

Ignore those people
and ignore their ‘alternatives.’

They are noise
and they weren’t planning
to ever fully support
your decision anyway.

Know The Odds

I recently took a cruise
with a loved one.
We masked in public
when not eating
and asked
for socially distanced tables
during meal times.

Why did we take these precautions?

Because I researched
and laid out the odds
of events happening
before we embarked.

The odds of COVID
being on board
were 100%.

The odds of being exposed
to COVID on board
were also 100%.

The odds of deriving long COVID
if we were infected
were 1 in 8.

If we looked at the odds,
we would be dumb a$$es
not to mask.

We masked.
COVID, as predicted,
raged through the ship.
People around us became sick.
We didn’t get COVID.

(And yes,
I know luck was also
a big factor in that.)

Know the odds
of events happening
before you make decisions.

It might not change
your decision
but, at the very least,
you can prepare
for high probability events
to happen.

Support Your Decision Makers

My eldest brother
lives with our Mom.
He makes the majority of decisions
concerning her healthcare.

He normally consults
with us first
but he often doesn’t have time
to wait long for agreement.

If I respond in time
we discuss the decision
and come to an agreement.

If I don’t respond in time,
I fully support his decision.

Because he is making
the best decisions he can,
tackling all that responsibility.

And any wrong decisions made
are truly
my fault.
I didn’t respond in time.

We should put a process in place.
And then support our decision makers
when they follow that process.

If they can’t contact us,
any wrong decisions made
are truly our responsibility.

Being reachable
is part of being
a business builder.

Support your decision makers.

All Or Nothing

I have some non-writing projects
on the go
and I won’t have
much time for writing
over the next couple years.

I was debating
whether or not
I should continue
publishing books.

Then I realized…
I was being a f*ckin’ idiot.
This doesn’t have to be
an either/or,
all or nothing
situation.

I could publish
one book a year
instead of
my current five books a year.
That would give me
time
to do both.

I suspect
one of the decisions
you’re currently contemplating
isn’t an either/or,
all or nothing
situation either.

Contemplate all the possibilities
between those two extremes.

Why Not Both?

I was asked yesterday
if I liked Star Wars or Star Trek.
I said I liked both.
The person got upset
and told me I had to choose.

No.
I didn’t have to choose.
I could like both.
I DO like both.

People, especially Americans,
like to choose sides.
They like being all in,
either passionately for
or passionately against.

That is limiting thinking.
It is world of scarcity thinking.
It is if I win, you lose thinking.

We don’t have to choose, for example,
between promoting on Facebook
or promoting on Twitter.
We can do both.

We don’t have to choose
between planting trees
and lowering emissions.
We can do both.

Doing both is almost always
an option.
Ensure you consider it.

The Cost Of Debating Established Facts

Over 99% of scientists
agree that humans
are causing climate change.

Yet there are still
some people insisting
on having a debate over
whether or not this is the truth.

These ‘debates’ might seem harmless.

They aren’t harmless at all.
They have a HUGE cost.
They delay action.

They delay updating city drains,
for example,
to deal with flash floods.
That will cause property damage
and perhaps death.

They delay installing air conditioning,
as another example,
in long term care homes.
That delay WILL result in death.

Each debate delays numerous actions,
all of which will have a very real impact.

Right now,
you are likely having a debate
about whether or not a fact
is truly a fact.

This could be
whether or not your brand name
is difficult
to remember
or
which social media platform
most of your prospects use
or
whether or not
the red hats you purchased
in 2010
are a great giveaway
today
for your liberal-leaning customers.

These ‘debates’ have a cost.
Accept the facts
and make decisions based on those.

There’s Always A Downside

There’s always a downside
to every decision,
even the smallest ones.

If I have toast for breakfast,
for example,
I have one less slice of bread
for future sandwiches.

We can try to decrease
the downside
(in this case,
perhaps buying more bread)
but we will never eliminate it.

Seth Godin
shares

“We don’t try something
simply because
there’s no downside.
Instead,
we intelligently choose projects
where the downside is understood
and the work is worth doing.”

Know the downsides of your decisions.
Try to minimize them,
prepare for them.
Then take action.

There are no risk-free choices.

Driving While Looking In The Rearview Mirror

I find it amusing that weeks after
the decision has been made,
the talking heads are still discussing
whether or not the financial bailout
should have happened.

A useless exercise.

As a businessleader,
you are paid to make decisions.

If it is a good decision,
you tuck that knowledge away for later
and move forward.

If it is a bad decision
(and you will make bad decisions,
that is a guarantee),
you take action to recover from it,
tuck that knowledge away for later,
and move forward.

There is no undo button
once a decision has been made and implemented
(even partially).
Keep looking forward.