Breaking the Perfection Habit can also help to faster decision making. Oh, so many persons I've known stretch the time to make decisions either because they are perfectionists or they lack the knowledge and experience to make a decision on the subject matter.
One credible way to close the gap and arrive at a decision is to give the decision-making process a time-line with a beginning and ending date. Committees, project teams or whoever should be asked that a decision be reached by a target date, end of story.
What did the great late Peter Drucker say about the universal discipline of decision-making?
"A seemingly mindless game of chance at which any donkey could win provided only that he be ruthless. But that is of course how any human activity looks to the outsider unless it can be shown to be purposeful, organized, systematic; unless it can be presented as the generalized knowledge of discipline." - Peter Drucker.
The key then to decision-making is purpose and time. What good is a perfect decision if it has serious consequences of losing market share and profitability or people dying by the millions. At the same time a rushed-decision that can end up in serious error and consequences that were the same or worse than before is of zero consequence or negative consequences. One good move of leadership is to keep employees fully informed of why you moved the cheese and how the decision fits into the organization's mission and vision. And, most important, tell employees, how the decision affects them.
Further reading: Articles at 2Merrill management index, and human relations index and Unwind management index and human relations index.
Comments