Viewing Blog #20

• 2016-05-18 10:10:05

6 tips to make better and more impactful decisions for your business

As a business leader or manager one thing is certain: you’ll have to make numerous decisions on a daily basis, both simple and tough ones. Those decisions then affect not only the company, but also its employees, customers and even the market as a whole, so needless to say, there’s a lot riding on making the right ones. This perhaps explains why there’s often a lot of anxiety that comes with the decision-making process.

One of the most valuable skills a leader can have though is the ability to make effective decisions, and very often, it’s the mark of a truly great leader. As with most things, practice makes perfect, so in order to become an experienced and effective decision-making machine, follow these six helpful tips.

 

Get all the information you need beforehand

First thing’s first: it goes without saying that in order to make a sound decision, in business or in life, you need to have all the facts. When it comes to making a business decision, adequate information gathering is imperative before drawing any conclusions. Without having all the facts and understanding how they affect the business beforehand, there’s a high likelihood that you will end up making the wrong decision. Information is critical when it comes to making the right choice and the faster you acknowledge this, the sooner you’ll start making more suitable decisions regularly.

 

Look at the bigger picture

It’s really easy to get caught up in the moment and make decisions that are great in the short-term, but not necessarily beneficial in the long run. When making business decisions it’s important to consider the future and how making certain decisions now can affect it. Essentially, decisions you make today should be in line with the goals of tomorrow.

Having said that… It’s also advisable that you avoid making decisions only in crisis situations. In other words: don’t always wait for things to get really bad before a decision gets made under intense pressure.

 

Procrastination is not the name of the game

The last thing you want to be doing as a business leader is perpetually putting off making decisions, especially the important ones. Taking some time to allow yourself to think, digest and ultimately come to the right decision is encouraged, but that doesn’t mean taking too long and in some cases, purposely putting it off altogether. Whilst sometimes it may be difficult when it comes to making a choice, avoiding making the decision isn’t the answer. Push yourself to make timely decisions and ones that are well-considered too, even if it may be really hard to do so in certain instances.

 

Avoid making decisions alone

Whilst you may have the final say, that doesn’t always mean that you should be making every business decision alone. In fact, sometimes it can really help to verbalise your ideas and then talk to others around you about the decision you’re considering. Getting input and opinions from others can make all the difference when it comes to making that final decision, so where possible, turn to the right people around you – your colleagues and friends may just help you see something in a completely different light.

 

Take a step back

Sometimes when you’re very deep in something, your judgement can be clouded and therefore it can be difficult to make the right decision. In this case, a little distance can be the best thing, as it can give you some time to step back and gain a new perspective from afar. Separating yourself can very often give you the clarity you need to make the best possible decision.

 

Learn from your mistakes

In life, it’s impossible to make the right decision every time, so be prepared to take some wrong turns in business too. Mistakes can and will happen, but it’s what you do with them and how you deal with them that really counts. There’s usually a lesson to be learnt from every bad decision, so in order to ensure you avoid making the same mistakes over and over, make an effort to learn from each one – you’ll be a better leader and decision-maker for it.

Being able to make impactful, positive decisions is a skill that develops over time, and one that comes with experience and learning. Intuition also plays a vital role in the decision-making process, as do other influences such as emotions, risk/reward and stress. Following these six tips should help you make better decisions for both you and your business, but remember to be patient, because ultimately it’s time that will make you a master decision-maker.

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