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Prioritize—Know What Decisions to Make When

Sometimes you find yourself in a position in which decision making is your primary task. This is not unusual among senior managers and corporate leaders. When this happens, you have multiple decisions to make, many of which you are working on at the same time.

So, there are some fairly simple rules:

First, make those decisions that are needed by others as quickly as you can. Don’t skimp on your research or analysis, but be mindful of others’ needs.

Second, for those decisions that don’t need to be made right away, create a simple time line beginning with the date the decision is needed, and back plan from there.

Third, when you know the situation needs a collaborative decision, create the time line with the other participants in mind, and with their participation.

Finally, if you aren’t certain if the decision is yours to make, make it a priority to find out through discussions and investigations. If it’s yours, you want the time to make a good decision; if it’s collaborative, you want to be certain you plan for others’ participation; if it’s someone else’s decision to make, you want to provide him with enough time to do a good job.