How To Make Better Decisions …

“This indecision’s buggin’ me … exactly whom I’m supposed to be … so you got to let me know …  should I stay or should I go?”  The Clash

When it comes to making decisions … sometimes we get stuck.

Maybe you’re being confronted with the decision to begin or end a business relationship … how do you decide what is the right call?

What if you’re faced with the excruciating decision to give up on your lifelong dream to own your own business because it’s failing or to end your corporate career and start a new business because it is your lifelong dream … how do you decide?

Or maybe it is a more simple decision to start or stop a behavior that is not giving you the results that you want and yet you keep kicking the can down the road and putting it off?

Most folks tend to postpone difficult decisions waiting for the situation to turn around. Sometimes they procrastinate by continuing to gather more and more information in an attempt to be 100% sure that they will not fail or make the wrong decision. Whatever the reason, we waste a lot of valuable time, resources, and windows of opportunity because we get lost in the zone of indecision. 

So how could you be 100% sure that you are making the right decision or taking the right action in each and every situation?

YOU CAN’T!!!!!

However you can increase the probability that you will make better business decisions if you are willing to ask yourself 3 Simple Questions.

A very wise mentor of mine, Dr. Nido Qubein, once shared the secret of making great business decisions. He said, “Joe … business is all about managing risk!”

He then gave me 3 very simple questions to ask myself before making a decision no matter how difficult or daunting the decision seemed to be.

3 Simple Questions To Make Better Decisions:

1. What is the best thing that can happen? This simply refers to the positive, the R-O-I, basically, the upside of making my decision. Think beyond just the money or financial piece and also look at the impact on your lifestyle, family, relationships, health, etc.. Be sure to write it down.
2. What is the worst thing that can happen? This is the cost, the risk, the downside, or the worst-case scenario that can unfold. Be careful not to be over-dramatic and be sure to not let fear takeover the leading role in your scenario. If fear starts to take over the script you can learn how to move from fear to action by reading this. Don’t forget to write it down … something physically changes in your brain when you transform your thoughts to something you can see, feel, and touch.
3. Can I live with the worst thing that can happen? This is just a reality check to keep you on the straight and narrow. If the answer is yes then move ahead. If for any reason the answer is no … then stop right then and there. It doesn’t matter if the realization is that it is a bad decision or you are not in the right place in your life to move ahead … you have your decision. Now let it go and move on!

Sounds simple?

It is … and here is what you will find.

1. The upside usually outweighs the downside in most cases.
2. You will systematically reduce the fear that could be clouding your judgment or complicating the issue.
3. You will make much better business decisions because you are adding a more objective risk-reward model into your decision process.

So should you stay or should you go?

I guess that’s a decision you now know how to make!.