The fear of making a bad decision in business is a problem I’ve heard recently and consistently over the years. To put it in another way, you’re stuck and unable to move forward because you don’t know what the “right” decision will be.
So, how to become better at making decisions
One common example is when you want to invest in new technology for your company. You might be unsure whether you should or not. Why? On the one hand, you want to use new technology that is applicable for both new and established businesses. However, technology tends to become obsolete rather quickly and must be upgraded over time.
Now, let’s practice and see how to overcome this example of indecision, by following these next 3 strategies:
1. If you have to make a decision on anything, Ben Franklin on Steroids is the way to go
What you want to do is create pros and cons list for this new technology you’re unsure about. That’s Benjamin Franklin. What I call “on steroids” is just the Entre Results approach. You put a numeric value next to each pro and con that denotes how important each specific point is. With a technological investment, maybe a pro is you believe that it would increase your revenue by a certain percentage, which might be an 8 out of 10 in terms of importance. Maybe a con is you have to dip into your savings to invest in the technology, which could be a 10 out of 10 on the importance scale.
So you do this with all the pros and cons you’ve listed, and then, you add the numbers up for each. The resulting values make it easy to see what decision you should make.
I’ve used this coaching methodology to help our clients get through countless decisions. Again, it’s called Benjamin Franklin on Steroids. Give it a try!
2. Seek counsel or a support team
Obviously, as coaches, we provide support to our clients. If you don’t have a coach, choose two or three people you trust to talk to. Get their feedback and advice. There’s no point being a complete loner on this. In other words, don’t avoid sharing your doubts with other people simply because you feel stuck. Talking to people you respect can be very helpful, especially since they can offer some fresh new perspectives.
One of our coaching tools is a support team. We want to make sure everyone has a solid support team in place because yes, there are repercussions to making a poor decision. When you have more people involved helping you, that risk is reduced.
3. Most importantly, be sure to make a decision!
Usually, the worst decision is to make “NO decision“. There are obviously exceptions, but analysis paralysis oftentimes leads to the worst outcome. Considering the time and energy wasted, it would be better if you simply decided yes or no and moved on. I’ve seen so many people get stuck for so long that they end up losing revenue.
These 3 tips can help you become a better decision-maker like many of our clients. Be sure to take action, and have a great day!
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