09 Jun 5 Tips to Better Decision Making

What do you do when an important decision is looming? Signing a key vendor. Offering equity to an important employee. A significant hire. Adding or deleting a product or service. Or even bigger ones like selling the company or shutting down. Do you dwell on it, toss and turn at night, make endless analytical charts or worse, procrastinate and delay the decision? Or do you give it very little thought, rush ahead because other business is waiting, and figure you can clean it up later if there are problems? Of course the right answer is somewhere in the middle – here are key drivers to better decision making:

1. Be efficient. Spend a little extra time at the start of the process charting the path to the final decision. Assess specifically what information you need to access, with whom you need to consult, and how you will likely weigh the various factors to be analyzed. This increases the chances that the decision will be made carefully but without dragging it out.

2. Get input and advice. Make sure your key team members and objective outside advisors are as involved as necessary to give you the maximum access to reliable points of view on the decision. Make especially sure to consult with those who may be effected by the decision to gauge their view of the matter. Remember your team appreciates being consulted on important matters.

3. Make the “pros and cons” chart. It seems cliche, but most cliches exist for a reason. Every important decision has advantages and disadvantages. Writing them down helps you visually understand the analysis better. But once you decide (what I call the “close your eyes and pray” moment), don’t look back other than to carefully monitor implementation (as noted below).

4. Prepare for challenge. One burden of leadership is realizing that with most major decisions, no matter what you do, someone is likely to be upset. Make sure that person(s) at least understands how you came to the decision and why, and why you chose not to go the path they suggested.

5. Make sure implementation is seamless. When I bought a radio station, we spent so much time focusing on the acquisition, we didn’t plan enough for the operation post-deal. Part of making a decision includes ensuring that you are able to make the results of your decision successful by implementing it with strong planning and forethought.

Good luck entrepreneurial decision makers!