Apr 18, 2010

Don't Wait too Long to Make decisions

Others ay have ideas, thoughts, opinions that are critical to the problem, which you may have not thought of, or overlooked. Talk with others to gain more information and to clarify your own values, perceptions, line of thinking. The ore information you acquire, the easier to make a more solid, reasoned decision. It is important to have varied options, be able to weigh each alternative, and determine the best course of action. Evaluating the benefits and consequences after weighing all the information will clarify the mission, goals, and values you want to support. In science-based professions and organizations, gathering-data entails research and in-depth analysis, critical study, diagnosis, and hypothesis before arriving at informed decisions.You’ve spent nights lying awake thinking about the pros and cons of each solution. You’ve agonized over all the alternatives and discussed with the team every day for hours, and yet you still can’t come up with a decisions. Sometimes the choices have equal pros and cons that no further discussion can produce a distinctive advantage for one choice or the other. Sometimes you just have to make an intuitive snap decision, and live with it. And Einstein once marked, “Everything should be as simple as possible.”
It isn’t surprising that many people do not like to make decisions. You do everything possible to delay it by gathering ore data, coming up with expanded lists of who else to interview and get opinions from, or worrying about who will be offended by the decisions fro, or worrying about who will be offended by the decision. You ay sometimes even hope the problem will go away. Good leaders have the skill to make the best decisions possible with the best information available in the timeliest manner. Good leaders are quick to decide and take responsibility for their decisions. There are times when expedient decision-making is critical. An example would be when an oil platform is down, and the customer is losing millions of dollars every minute by not being able to produce oil. Do you send a technical team to provide a assistance during hurricane weather? What is the impact of non-support to a big alliance customer? What is its impact on your employees, regarding their safety? The dangers surrounding the decision, the priorities and ramifications will be viewed differently by everyone. As a leader, you must have the integrity to say,” I have made the best decision possible given the facts and circumstances.”
Waiting to long to make decisions will result in missed opportunities. If the group has been discussing and debating resolutions, and have finally agreed on the best solution, then waiting for management to approve the project and the delay in giving the go-ahead to the group takes a toll on the urgency of the moment.
Leaders are expected to be aware of problems in their organizations. Because a critical problem is not recognized early enough, actions or decisions may come too late. Recognition of problems before they escalate is critical management of skill that equates with efficiency, productivity, revenues and cost savings.
Quick decisions allow the management and others to move on to other projects. If the first alternative did not work, you can still have the time to correct it, improve the process and minimize the downtime, instead of wasting of tie. With a no-action approach, some problems may deteriorate, and the current alternative presented may no longer be valid, so that the process has no be repeated. 
Some may fear turning vulnerable when making decisions, as it opens up an opportunity for ridicule or criticism from others. There’s little incentive to be decisive if you are humiliated. It takes a long time for people to forget, from you to rise up from where you’ve fallen and prove your worth again.
We need to look at the workers who are waiting for a decision from upper management. Lack of closure or waiting for a decision makes people stressed and anxious. This leads tower productivity and efficiency.
Sometimes delay tactics in making decisions can turn into a strategy. An example would be in real estate, where you could wait for ore offers for you house on sale, select the highest bid, or instigate a price war, all to your advantage. It could also backfire when buyers lose interest because of the delay while other offers are expected.

No comments: