Decsions, Decisions, Decisions

People who work with me will tell you I am quick to grab a metaphor to underline a point; from nature, from cooking, from almost anywhere. Including driving.

You know when you are driving and need to turn across an oncoming lane of traffic ? And there is someone approaching at such a distance that is open to interpretation as to who of you goes first? Do you cross in front of the oncoming vehicle? Or stop and let them pass? Haven't we all been in these places of uncertainty when driving, an uncertainty that must be resolved into a  smart, safe and timely decision?

So, this is a moment when decisiveness counts. The driver who is turning needs to decide quickly and take the turn at an appropriately brisk pace. Or not. The driver who sees the vehicle wanting to turn needs to decide as well, do I want them to go? Or do I want them to stay and let me pass?

Decisive is defined by Oxford Dictionaries via Google as 'settling an issue, producing a definite result' (emphasis theirs). Decisiveness counts often in business, any kind of business. And it is worth learning how to make decisive decisions.

If you are an owner/entreprpenuer and find yourself questioning your own decisions, see if any of these tools help:

1. Assess the current situation. Are you being rigorous in your search for understanding and inviting input from all relevant parties regardless of status or rank? What judgements or pre-conceived notions might be obscuring your view?

2. Be realistic about the level of urgency; who's expressing urgency and why? What is your obligation to take on their level of urgency? Where is your level of urgency in comparison to others?

3. What fresh ideas can  you bring to the situation? Make sure to let your mind work creatively first, before acknowledging any limitations or constraints. What we call 'no bazookas'.

4. What are your objective(s) are in this situation?  If you are not sure, stop a minute and figure this out. Then, give a quick stress test . Is your objective in this immediate situation in alignment with your enterprise mission and vision?

I am inviting you to practice this exercise with your decision-making for a while and let me know how it goes. I will update this post with additional suggestions and input as I hear from you.

Back to our drivers for a moment. After that decisive decision comes the next key action; communication. Check back for that post soon.

Knots and Threads

Some situations are like knots, with lots of elements interwoven in a chaotic manner that have become tight. It is then hard to distinguish among the parts. They are hard to work with, and not so useful. We all know knots.

And sometimes we want to undo the knot, to have a useful piece or pieces of rope or string we can use. The first step? Have a good look and see what you can distinguish. Figure out a way to begin to loosen it so you can pull the individual threads. As you pull one, others also loosen. And on you go.

This image is helpful when presented with a situation that seems all balled up, often triggering frustration and irritation, maybe inspiring blame, and possibly even raising the question of whether the entire thing ought to be thrown out. An underperforming division? Technical challenges? Staff friction? An onslaught of competition? Lack of profitability?

 Start by having a good hard look at the situation and figuring out what the threads are. What can you loosen to better understand and gain perspective? What is so closely interwoven you don’t want to separate? What about that question of simply saying no or being done and walking away? You won't know until you get into it and make an honest assessment of the situation.

Sound familiar? Want some help?

Forget about Growth, Go for Sustainability

Provocative I know in this day and age. But think about it. Growth just doesn't quite capture all that an entrepreneurial enterprise is about. Especially these days. Sometimes it is too narrow an idea, sometimes it doesn't really mean anything at all. If you are an entrepreneur with an interest in really building a seriously successful enterprise, I urge you to forget about growth and go for sustainability.

That's right. I know, against the grain of most all the talk out there in Businessland about unicorns and 'move fast and break things' and exits and retiring at 35. Honestly? I do not believe that is the right approach for some of us. Some of us want more, more engagement, more connection, more balance, more fun.

Defining 'sustainability ' for yourself is an important step. What really do you want from your enterprise? What does it look like when you make a deep honest assessment of the current situation and then look at that in comparison with the portrait of where you want to take your enterprise? This is a really valuable step; having both in hand - one on the left let's say, and one on the right - enables you to think about what strategy might get. you from the here to the there.

 If you want some help figuring this out, call me.

Small Decisions Add Up

Our daughter got herself into a bit of hot water at school once and her dean sat us down and drew a simple diagram demonstrating how small decisions add up. 

She was not the only wise person who pointed this out, but as with so many useful reminders and lessons, it stayed with me. And sometimes it doesn't so then reminders are needed.

What are your small decisions?

Do you know where you want them to take you?

Are they adding up in the right direction?

If you are unsure, call me and we will figure it out together.