I don’t know if I can teach you how to create clarity in one short article, especially when your situations all differ radically and speed is of the essence, but I’m going to try because creating clarity has never been more important.
I’m worried sick about some businesses and totally impressed by others that have responded quickly, some brilliantly. The range of problems caused by the coronavirus could not be broader. Just among my own clients and contacts efforts span everything from shifting operations into home offices to establishing iron clad disinfecting and distancing protocols to tracking daily changes in governmental regulations across hundreds of countries to sourcing new materials and retooling machines to creating systems for online ordering and delivery to making momentous workforce decisions to switching from plated meals to take and bake options. All while the world continues to shift under their feet.
I love New Year’s Day because that’s when my husband and I consider all the travel and vacation ideas we’ve conjured over the past year and transform them into decisions. The difference between a decision and an idea is specificity and commitment.
If you were striving to walk 10,000 steps, what happened to your motivation when it was reported that the 10,000 step goal was arbitrary, that women who walk 4,000 steps were 40% less likely to die, and that longevity benefits maxed our around 7,500? Did you reduce your goals?
The Decision Book exercise led to a fascinating discussion with another of my colleagues. I related my experience to-date and suggested he give the experiment a try. We both acknowledged that there was no reason to fill a Decision Book with commitments to clients because those are a given. Accountability isn’t an issue. We always meet those commitments. My friend went on to suggest the same is true of any decisions he makes that promise something to someone else. He always delivers. Period. I agreed. So if we don’t put commitments to others in a Decision Book, that only leaves commitments that we make to ourselves! I asked my colleague what kinds of commitments he makes to himself. I was met with a lot of silence. At first, he suggested that if the decisions listed in the book have to be true commitments to himself, he would likely leave the book empty because he isn’t very good at keeping commitments to himself. That’s when he had the big ah-ha.
My friend and colleague, Debs Jenkins, got me thinking with one of her recent newsletters. She proposed the idea of keeping a Little Book of Big Decisions. The idea is to record your decisions and periodically review them to see if you are making the same decisions over and over or letting important decisions languish. Intrigued to learn more about my own decisions, I took out a 5×7, placed it on the edge of my desk, and started my list…
We make decisions all day long and many are both important and time-consuming. In no particular order, here are the most common mistakes people make when making decisions:
I often help clients make complex and important decisions. Strategic planning, significant changes, and sensitive issues are the main situations where I am brought in. Inevitably, this includes working with a group of leaders who are the decision-makers and whose buy-in is critical to success. My clients are often amazed at how quickly I can extract significant insights and guide a group to critical decisions that they all support with great enthusiasm and commitment. Want to know my secrets?
Decisions are the forks in the road. We encounter them a thousand times daily, starting with the choice of ignoring our alarm or getting out of bed in the morning. And then we continue making decisions all day long – about clothes, hair, food, children, parents, pets, commuting, projects, customers, priorities, strategies, co-workers, money, technology, email, phone calls, plans, problems, investments, service providers, healthcare, and, finally, whether to watch one more show before bed.
One year ago, a brewery opened in our town. Inside a beautiful old historic brick landmark that the owners restored, they brew excellent beer and have created a charming setting that attracts tourists, locals, and, with the Presidential race underway, candidates. So far, I have shared a pint with Beto O’Rourke and hobnobbed with Tulsi Gabbard, as well as friends and family. This brewery is just a tremendous asset for the town. But these young owners could teach other business folk a few lessons too. In particular, they’ve taught me some lessons about consistency. In the first several months, they made many significant changes. After financing some of their final building efforts with an IndieGoGo campaign that awarded growlers to donors, they decided not to sell growler refills. After posting beer prices, and then posting new prices, they posted new prices yet again. After announcing the availability of flights, they quit serving flights. Every day—of course I wasn’t actually in there every day!—they seemed to change the rules.