Why Big Decisions Don't Always Mean Big Results

You can take all the massive action you want and still not get the results you need. Why? Because you weren't making sure that the action you took fit in to your bigger picture.

Think of it this way: would you drive around aimlessly day after day without knowing where you were going? It might be a great joyride, but it won't feel like progress. You may even make some pretty big decisions along the way (for example, going north instead of south!) but you still won't feel that satisfying sense of accomplishment.

When it comes to business, you need to make sure that every move you make fits in to your overall strategy. Would you hire office staff if there wasn't a clear outline of how that would prove valuable to your business plan? Would you acquire a new building if your financial goals would be unattainable with the added expense? Would you diversify your product line if your manufacturing processes needed to remain static to control maintenance expenses? As attractive as all these "side trips" may be, they may end up preventing you from achieving the goals that need to be realized in order for you to experience success and satisfaction.

After you have developed a clear picture of where your business is headed, stick to the plan. You've already determined the objectives that are worth your investment of time, energy, and action. So don't waste time chasing rainbows in other directions. Get down to business!

Making Tough Decisions

It's true that the only constant in life is change, and as we adapt and react to it we often have to make tough decisions. Sometimes the choices we make will adversely affect people we care about, slow the progress of causes we have a passion for, or stem the tide of personal financial increase. Making tough decisions requires unique strength, and the ability to weather the consequences of those decisions is a mark of true endurance and perseverance.

How do you face and make tough decisions? Business owners make tough decisions on a fairly regular basis. Some are more tough than others.

1. Separate yourself from the issue. In business, it is important to remind yourself to look at a situation objectively and work from the most unbiased standpoint possible. We can easily rationalize what we do when it will save us grief. But when we eliminate our personal emotional involvement, we may discover that the situation takes on a whole new light. Depending on the weight of the situation, I would also recommend removing yourself physically. Take a day or two away. Step out of the everyday, regain your perspective, and make a decision that makes sense whether you are in the trenches or not.

2. Make sure you're focussing on the important factors. This might sound redundant, but just because you've separated yourself from the issue doesn't mean you've appropriately prioritized what is truly important in this decision-making process. Try to nail it down to three utterly imperative factors that must be taken into account. And make sure those factors are really the ones that are most important. One way to do this is to match them against steps and processes essential to your business success. Are these factors the weighty ones that will help or hinder your company from achieving its goals? If not, it might be time right now to re-evaluate how much time you've spent already on this decision.

3. Evaluate possible repercussions. No one can effectively predict the future, but it's invaluable to look ahead and try to determine to the greatest extent possible how your decision will reverberate through your business. Consider both the positive and negative probabilities and possibilities. If you're leaning towards a choice with a number of negative consequences, now is a good time to consider how you will counter those effects and how much they may impact your productivity, business strategy, and ultimately, your success.

4. Take as much time as you need. Tough decisions shouldn't be made easily. Whether it takes you two hours, two days or two weeks to weigh in the factors that need to be considered, take the time to do it. You are the business owner - take as much time as you feel you need to make a good decision. But be careful - don't use the "I need more time" feeling as an excuse to procrastinate. You can only dedicate your time to one god - either Idleness or Productivity. Take the time you need, but take no more than what you need.

5. When the choice becomes clear, make the decision. It's that simple. When the door opens, walk through it. Don't hesitate, second-guess, or procrastinate. It will only cloud your judgment, tempt you to rationalize what shouldn't be rationalized, and draw out a situation that doesn't need time to become more complicated. When the way becomes clear, follow the path.

6. Make a plan. A plan for execution and fallout clean-up of this decision. Maybe it's simple and maybe it isn't. But after the consideration you've given this issue, be sure you consider how to effectively implement that decision and handle all the adjacent side effects. Write it down.

7. Don't look back. When you walk through that door, don't forget to close it behind you. You gave that decision all it required - adequate perspective, weighing in of the important factors and consequences, and time to make sure you'd considered everything appropriately. You made the decision to the best of your ability. Now man up, move forward, and take whatever the fallout is in stride. You made a good decision.

Our economic climate is demanding more and more people to make tough decisions. Are you prepared to face those decisions? As business owners we are concerned with success - both our success and the success of our families and communities. There's no lack of wealth in our system, but the distribution and redistribution systems of that wealth are changing. The value of commodities is shifting and worth is being determined by altering standards. In this kind of uncertain environment, people withdraw into personal circles of security. Loyalties diminish as each individual struggles to find their niche, meet obligations, or simply survive. Trust becomes more scarce as each person seeks to find a way for themselves amidst these fluctuations. As a business owner, you are going to need to make some tough decisions. Take time now to prepare to handle them.

Start at the End

Always know the end of a business venture before you begin. Plan for it and don't lose sight of it. While it may seem paradoxical, the end will one day come and you need to know your exit strategy before you step through the door.

Are you planning to build a business that will give you a good living until retirement? Are you planning to build an international enterprise that will not only support your lifestyle, but effectively financially position your children's children? Are you intending to build the business to a certain point, sell it, and move on? How does your venture contribute to your vision of life in ten years, and when will the time come for you to part ways? What will be the key indicators that will signal that the end is near? Knowing how the story ends is key to determining how it will begin and how decisions will be made as the business grows.

If you're thinking about starting a new venture, or diversifying your corporation in new directions, or buying a new enterprise to complement the holdings you already have, take a long look at how you picture the end of the road. I recommend reading Start With Why by Simon Sinek, or Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur by Richard Branson. Make sure you know where you're going, why you're going there, and how you will know when you have arrived. And when the time comes, execute the exit strategy you have always planned.

To Be or Not To Be

Take the pains required to become what you want to become, or you might end up becoming something you’d rather not be. --Donald Trump

Look around you. Is this where you imagined yourself ten years ago? Is this the house, the family, the car, the lifestyle you had in mind? If so, congratulations! If not, why not? Where did you turn aside from the things that mattered to you and made concessions that have led you to where you are today? Because contrary to a popular belief that life just happens and we ride the waves as they come, where you are today is largely a product of your own choices. Perhaps your priorities changed; maybe an unanticipated life-altering event occurred that was completely beyond your control; perhaps you simply decided that what you originally wanted isn't what you really wanted. The reasons aren't essential at this point. What is essential is that you take a pitstop on the road of life to decide if where you're headed is where you want to go.  Let's take a lesson from an old childhood classic - Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland:

"Cheshire-Puss," she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where---" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"---So long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

We can all keep on walking, but someday we may discover ourselves in a place we never intended to be. It's time to discover the power of goal-setting. At ActionCOACH we believe in setting a course, evaluating progress, and ensuring we are moving in a positive direction. Where you are right now is your starting point. Where you want to be is your end point. It's time to plot the course that will get you there. Start building your dreams. Start reaching for those goals. This life is the only life you've got - the only chance at success. Learn why planning is so important, and then put that knowledge into action. It's time to live that dream and be that person. If you don't do it now, when will you do it?