17

Analysis Paralysis
Decision Precision

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

These lyrics from Rush’s famous song “Freewill” has a lot of wisdom. Waiting is not deciding. Thinking is helpful, but overthinking is wasteful. The best leaders are people who think enough to make an informed decision and take action. We are all bombarded with information and overwhelmed with newsfeeds and data. It’s not that information isn’t helpful—it is—but if you only focus on inputs, you may not get to the output.

Calculated speed is a sign of confidence, intelligence, and effectiveness. I say calculated speed, because it’s not just about doing things. It is, however, about getting the right things done in a timely manner. People actually respect others more when they make a wrong decision and grow from it as opposed to those who are afraid to make decisions.

Some people are naturally confident and comfortable with making decisions. For others, making a decision is a thorn in their side and they procrastinate until the decision is made for them. Decision-making is just a skill. By definition, a skill is something that can be learned. I believe that people who think they aren’t good at making decisions have talked themselves out of being effective at it. A lot of the work I do with executives is around credibility. One of the quickest ways to lose or gain credibility is around decision-making. If you are thought of as someone who can’t make a decision, it detracts from your credibility bank account; and if you are thought of as someone who can make tough decisions, it makes deposits in your credibility bank account.

Just as in the development of any skill, there are common mistakes and missteps that people can make. The following are some of the most common challenges and mistakes that people make when making decisions.

1. Thinking that the more important a decision is, the more difficult it has to be to make one.

2. Believing that the amount of time you spend on a decision directly improves its value.

3. Spending too much time on collecting more information than you need.

4. Letting feelings cripple your progress.

5. Going with your first choice.

6. Worrying too much about what others think.

7. Not worrying at all about what others think.

8. Not having a consistent approach to making a decision.

There are a variety of approaches to making a decision. It’s critical to know up front which approach you are taking. In the spirit of keeping it simple, let’s put them into three buckets: command, consensus, and combination. A command decision is when there is one person in control and he/she is making the decision, period. It’s often the case that the decision has already been made and there is no need to involve others in the process. A consensus decision is an approach where all parties involved make the decision. The goal is to get all points of view and make a decision that everyone can support. A combination decision is when you integrate the points of views of others, and then either make the decision on your own or designate someone or some group of people to make the decision.

I asked someone who makes many decisions daily what their most helpful, yet simple success strategy is. Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard who is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at BET Networks (A Viacom Company), offered clear advice. Her message was to get the work done, even if there is chaos. She explained that you don’t have as much influence going forward when you make decisions if you don’t have a record of delivering. Her simple success strategy is clear and offers insight on how the decision to “get the work done” leads to credibility.

Simple Success Strategy: Decision Precision

If you are the decision-maker, own that role. If you already have a decision made or aren’t going to integrate the points of view from other people, don’t waste their time. It’s also okay to let people know that you want their input, but will make the final decision. Clarity is king. As long as you are clear up front, you will be setting yourself up for success. Having an approach to making decisions and having confidence in that approach works. Now that we have focused on where people make mistakes, let’s focus on what works and works fast. Decision precision includes three steps: define, deliberate, and decide.

Define

In this step, the focus is on defining the challenge and defining the decision rules. During this step, you think through how important and how urgent the decision is. This is where you give yourself a timeline and decide who needs to be involved in making the decision. When determining who should be involved in the decision process, be strategic and think through it from two perspectives, practical and political. The practical is about who has information or expertise that you can leverage. The political is about who needs to be involved or informed so you don’t alienate anyone. You can use this as an opportunity to build alliances.

Deliberate

In this step, the focus is on identifying the range of options. During this process, you can make a list of the possible outcomes and their impact. It’s also an opportunity to discuss the potential options with others. You should make it a priority to get as many viewpoints from as many people as possible. Whether you get diverse viewpoints from other people or you think it through yourself, you need to include three core approaches. It’s likely that you tend to see things and make decisions based on one of three mindsets: head, heart, and hands.

The head mindset is all about being analytical and logical. When you see things through this mindset, you are focused on the rational side of things and the facts. Your primary concern is around getting things right and ensuring you focused on the right things.

The heart mindset is all about dealing with feeling. When you see things through this mindset, you are focused on emotion and how decisions impact others. The primary concern is on how the decision you make will make others feel.

The hands mindset is all about getting things done. When you see things through this mindset, you are focused on how quickly you can take action. The primary concern is on results and moving on to the next action item.

Each of these mindsets is valuable and plays a role. During the deliberation phase, it’s important to pay attention to all three of these mindsets. Identify which one of the three you tend to align with. Protect yourself from making decisions that you only see through your point of view or primary mindset. The best thing you can do is to identify people who have different mindsets and talk through your decisions from their point of view.

Decide

Make the decision and move forward with confidence. Have confidence in the process and that you have spent the time to do your due diligence. The hardest thing about making a decision is struggling before the decision is made. The greatest thing about making a decision is that, once it’s decided, it’s done.

Forward motion is our intention and our focus. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get stuck or have bad days when you are moving slow. It just means that you need to be accountable to yourself to not staying stuck and let yourself get into a “what if” whirlpool of spiraling thoughts. If you are someone who tends to overthink things, find people and approaches that get you out of the analysis and into the action.