Learning to be Decisive

Decisiveness is more important than making good decisions many times. Most times people miss out when they make their decisions because they allow conditions to dictate their decisions. Yes we must pay careful attention to the conditions which will have an effect on our decisions but we need to remember that conditions will never be exactly what we need for them to be. We can end up waiting until the opportune time to make a decision has past. Whenever you make a decision you are taking a risk but make sure that you are taking a calculated risk. You need to be aware of the negative circumstances that the existing conditions may possibly have on your decision and you need to be ready to respond to them but don’t allow them to stop you. Most times the thing which makes the difference is the way that you execute the decision that you made, not the decision itself. I have seen a poor decision which worked well only because it was well executed. Granted making the decision to wait on conditions to change versus the decision to execute may be like walking on a tightrope but timing is often the difference between winning and losing. Timing has been the key to winning or losing many military battles that this country has fought. Sometimes commanders were faced with critical choices which would result in the loss of many lives but most times they have worked out for the best. A bad decision will hinder you but it is not necessarily a death blow. Some people are so afraid of making a mistake that they are frozen into inaction. Perfectionists often don’t get their situations resolved because they have to have everything just right. I believe in coming up with the rough product then improving on it as time allows. That way you are not caught short at execution time. You will at least have some kind of product to show. It may not be the absolute best solution but nine out of ten it will work. Learn to keep your eyes on the big picture. Don’t allow the small details to bog you down. Learn to be like the proverbial warrior and keep moving forward whatever the situation or circumstances may be. When things go bad they won’t get any better if you don’t do anything so continue to move. You may have to take tiny steps but whenever you manage to take enough of them you will have walked your way out of trouble. Indecisiveness is often the product of low self esteem. The person who is confident in his or her abilities will make decisions and won’t hesitate to stand behind them. He or she knows that they can win because they have won in the past. The indecisive person may have lost some battles in the past and if so their indecisiveness was probably the reason for their loss. If you have plenty of time to make your decision take all of it before you act. If you have to make a fast decision, don’t be afraid to do what you have to do. One thing which will benefit you is to take the time to develop your subordinates to be able to carry on if you are not there to call all of the shots. This will pay off in big dividends when you are in a crisis situation. The biggest thing that you can do now is to be organized. An organized person can more readily adapt to situational changes and to emergencies as they occur. He or she can handle those heavy loads which can cripple the operations of less organized people. Preparation is a big key to being an effective decision maker. Riceland Enterprises