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Covet Your Second Thoughts
I was recently watching the television show Inside the Actors Studio, which featured a two-hour special with Stephen Spielberg. In the course of the program, the incredibly successful director and businessman delved into the factors that had contributed to his success as a filmmaker. At one point in the interview, I was surprised when Spielberg was quite definite about his need to review first impressions and decisions. He emphasized that you must “covet your second thoughts.” Spielberg was honestly revealing a respect for his delayed deliberations, which proved many times to be more valid than his initial thoughts and reactions.
This immediately reminded me of the many times during my ownership of the Record Plant when I reacted too quickly to a request for a decision. I felt confident in my split-second abilities to be extremely decisive, without sufficiently pondering the problems that could result from acting too quickly.
It seems that one aspect of being a successful studio entrepreneur is that you always find you have too much on your plate. Sorting through the nonsense to find the pearls of products and services, and avoiding the hazards of misjudgment and insufficient analysis, are serious everyday problems. All of us want to be thought of as “decisive” managers. Decisive is macho, indecisive is wimpy—or so we are led to believe.
Perhaps we should reexamine this stereotype of the successful studio businessman, and leave room for “second thoughts.” Several useful, self-imposed rules have helped me make better decisions in the appropriate period of time by identifying the following issues in the decision-making process:
BIG PICTURE VS. LITTLE PICTURE
How will the decision that you are in the process of making affect your total business? This question will help determine its relative importance and how much time you will have, or should allocate to considering alternatives. You really must be ruthlessly honest with yourself on this one. If you can take the time, you might find some solutions that at first you overlooked.
LONG TERM VS. SHORT TERM
Is this decision a “today” thing, which may be made quickly with little information (for example, What kind of sandwich do I want for lunch?), or is it a “Should I buy a mainframe digital console and if so, which one, and when?” kind of decision. If the latter is the case, you would be wise to mobilize a task force with your team of people, to consider all the alternatives and return on investment considerations necessary to minimize your risk. This is a situation in which your ability to attract top talent will pay generous rewards.
DOWNSIDE THINKING
As my father used to say, “Take care of the downside, and the upside will take care of itself.” It's proven to be a very reliable rule to live by. What are all the bad repercussions, potential and possible, that can happen if you make the wrong decision? Will your company survive? Will you lose clients or key personnel? Will your banker call your loan if you are not right? Most everything else pales by comparison to the answers to these questions. Many of us call this the “risk-reward ratio.” Is the reward significant enough to take the risk of suffering the loss that could result if you are wrong?
PRIORITIES AND TIMING
The timing and importance of the decision in question establish its priority. This is a crucial consideration, which I believe should be determined at the beginning of the decision-making process. Sometimes the best answer is the “Miz Scarlett” approach (from Gone with the Wind): “I'm not going to think about that today. I'm going to think about that tomorrow.” On the other hand, the economic impact of this decision on your business can modify the priorities immensely. If you are going to lose a major client if you don't purchase a particular piece of gear now, you'd better move quickly. If a client needs to know if you will do his project for a lower rate than anticipated—or he will go to another facility—the decision-making time is now or never.
TIME FOR THE TEAM
One of the reasons you are able to attract and keep good people is that you aid in their career growth by sincerely listening to their opinions. In addition, you don't criticize them if their opinions are opposed to yours. Because of this, your people are willing to offer their true thoughts in the decision-making process during any tough company situation.
It would be much simpler for them to say nothing, because they would avoid getting into trouble with you. But “yes men” are a dime a dozen and do you no good at decision-making time. Instead, why not surround yourself with talented advisors and enthusiastic employees? Demonstrate to them that you can readily admit it when you are wrong. Let them know that you are willing to change your mind to accommodate their way of thinking. As a result, you will gain the benefits of their experience and sincere opinions. You still have the responsibility of making the final decision, but if you encourage their candid ideas, your chances of making the best decisions are greatly enhanced.
Remember, these people live with your business on many different levels every day. Your team members are aware of a great many details that you may take for granted—if you have properly delegated authority. There are many facets of your day-to-day operation that could affect the dilemma under discussion. And, if employees openly disagree with you, it gives you a chance to clearly defend your opinions against their objections. If you can sincerely convince them in peer-level conversation that your opinion is correct, it will add to the confidence that your way is the right way.
Good preparation for staff decision-making meetings is essential to the success of your company. Your analysis of the strategic risk involved, the pitfalls, and the competitive ramifications of a critical mistake in planning will serve to summarize the problems and potential solutions available.
The person chairing the meeting should always prepare a detailed written agenda with the number of minutes allocated for each subject scheduled for discussion. Starting the meeting on time and finishing on time means that you must stay on the agenda track for optimum results. Since everyone has other problems to solve as well, you must have a clear focus on the particular subject to be discussed, at the start of the meeting. The probing of objective thoughts and concerns and the group discussion will nurture original thinking and clear away the cobwebs of indecision.
If it is determined that the subject requires more depth of thinking and analysis, make additional fact-finding assignments and table the discussion until the next scheduled meeting. All of this strategic management control will yield more carefully thought out objective decisions—which in turn will offer a greater chance for success than a snap judgment based on nothing more than the current direction of the winds of change.
While a team decision takes away the pride of authorship from any single individual, it provides a situation in which all who are members of your decision-making group get to share in the glory of the resulting success. When a team member feels that without his or her input the decision could have gone the wrong way, it serves to inspire self-confidence and individual growth. This encourages your people to explore and seek additional authority for a more active role in future corporate decisions.
There is an old Samurai saying: “Refrain from action until you can respond rather than react.” Even though you may be rushed for a decision, be certain to take time for resourceful suggestions from your suppliers, financial advisors, clients, and employees. Separate and discard the self-serving or broad-brush chatter. Logically and methodically come to the rational and justified decision that is best for your company. The extra time you take should provide you with a strategic advantage—and in the long run you will spend much less time cleaning up messes, salving bruised egos, and revisiting old problems.