Decisive Indecisiveness?

"I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up."

Mark Twain

19th American humorist

Carefully considering the facts prior to making a critical decision is as important in business as is making timely decisions.

How do you find balance between the two?

Heads Or Tails Or . . .

"A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion."

 Chinese proverb

What this doesn't talk about is what that "wise man" will base his (or her) decision on.

If the ultimate responsibility for action falls to me, I will make the decision accepting the consequence, but I will do that with as much credible input as possible, from as many credible sources available.

The Company You Keep

"A long dispute means that both parties are wrong."

Voltaire

18th century French writer

Before any of you point it out, I do know this absolutely applies to the US Congress but as with everything in BW, my focus is business.

We shouldn't time our management debates but limiting the time we do before moving on would be a good idea.

Otherwise we risk being seen as (God forbid) politicians.

In Due Time

"I am too Occidental for a long vigil.  I could work at a problem for years, but to wait 24 hours--that is another matter."

Time Traveler

"The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells

I'm not sure this condition is limited to Occidentals, but whatever the case, I understand the implications of patience, or lack thereof.

How about you, are you patient? 

I (patiently) await your answer.

Because You Should Or Because You Want To?

"We are never deceived, we deceive ourselves."

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Late 18th century German poet/novelist

Not allowing myself to get hung up on the absolute of this ("never"), I agree.

In business, we do many things because we want to, maybe more than what we do being certain they are the right things to do.

The trick is to recognize your decisions based on clear fact and logic, from those founded on hope and desire.

A difficult but necessary task for any manager.

Analysis Yes, But Somebody Has To Decide

"Observation more than books, and experience more than persons, are the prime educators."

Amos Bronson Alcott
19th century American educator

As one who has made a career of formal market research, you might think I would disagree with this.

I don't.

At some point a human has to decide what to do next and all the research and analysis available to them, are only additional tools they can use to reach their decision.

The Danger of Misinformation

"I honestly think it is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so."

Josh Billings
19th century American humorist

Mr. Billings is talking about believing you know something you actually don't and certainly acting on misinformation ("what ain't so") is not a good thing.

I think far too many managers do so, far too often.

What Do You (Think) You Know?

"Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well-informed just to be undecided about them."

Dr. Laurence J. Peter
Professor of Management/Author

Funny but true.

Sometimes the decision must come after first recognizing that you don't know enough to decide, which is very different than making decisions telling yourself you do know enough.

If you're rolling the dice, at least know that you are.

The Role of Tradition in Business

"Tradition is a guide, not a jailer."

W. Somerset Maugham
Early 20th century British novelist and playwright

And the lesson in this for business is, don't be bound by what has been unless you are fairly certain that is also what should be.

Often it is not.

The Role of Dissent

"Always fall in with what you are asked to accept."

Robert Frost

No.

There's got to be more having to do with debate, discussion, etc.

I'm not saying you always resist but if you never pause to think, sometimes resulting in directional change, what contribution are you making?

The Importance of Perspective

"There are truths on this side of the Pyrenees, which are falsehoods on the other."

Blaise Pascal
17th century French mathematician

Like the blind men feeling different parts of the elephant, "seeing" different animals depending on what part they touched, what we see in our business lives has everything to do with perspective.

Do you take perspective into account when making decisions?

When Enough is Enough

"The search for the perfect venture can turn into procrastination."

Author Unknown

A number of BW's quotes discuss the need to thoughtfully consider what you will do versus the need to act. But this quote may point to the root problem.

Can there ever be a "perfect" venture or decision?

Too little thought leads to rash decisions. Too much, inaction. The trick is to strike the right balance.

How do you do that?

The Science of Decision Making

"There are in fact two things; science and opinion; the former begets knowledge the latter ignorance."

Hippocrates
4th century Greek physician

If we accept a broad interpretation of "science" to include all forms of discovery, Hippocrates is telling us that intelligent decision making requires thoughtful, data based analysis.

How do you make your decisions?

Data: The Foundation for Decision Making

"You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon."

Adlin Sinclair
Author

(You are what you eat.)

Your business will ultimately be based on the sources of information and data you access and of greater importance, actually use, including little or none.

How does input and data other than what you already know or believe, influence your business decisions?

Decision Making: The Ultimate Business Calculus

"Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight."

Henry Luce
American Publisher

The best business decisions are based on many inputs including that we know, that we assume, and as Mr. Luce says, instinctive foresight.

Looking back to what was, at what is today, or what may be. But not all decision makers spend time thinking about all three.

What about you? How much time do you spend in "continual calculation"?

Decision Making: Swimming in Circles

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

These two quotes allude to the same thing: the need to continually review the process that leads to the decisions we make.

It is very easy to fall into a pattern of circular thinking. I think it therefore it is. But the obvious danger in doing this is self-fulfilling prophecy.

That would be OK if all our decisions were good ones but when they're not . . .

How (do) you challenge your decision making process?

Decision Making: Controlling Events, Being Controlled by Events

"Get the habit of analysis-analysis will in time enable synthesis to become your habit of mind."

Frank Lloyd Wright

Mr. Wright was suggesting that developing a framework for reaching decisions is beneficial and once in place, habitual.

I've observed in the companies I've worked with that decision making is based on one of three scenarios:

1. One way one time, another the next with no discernible pattern.
2. By default as a result of no decision being reached (the decision is not consciously made and events dictate what happens.)
3. The result of being subjected to a repeatable process in which facts and assumptions are "processed" with the outcome being a conscious decision.

By far the third option is both the most preferable and least used. As with planning, good processes to make decisions are not readily apparent, don't just happen and need to be purposely created.

Were you told how your company reaches decisions when you joined? Have you ever been in a meeting where the topic was "Develop Process to Make Decisions"?