Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! It seems the universe is always trying to force decision making on me; and seems to happen when I don't have much time or attention to make a legitimate decision. Or, the decision making process appears to be a "Damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation. In my new book, Anderson's Rules, I talk about this as a condition I call "The Horns of a Dilemma".
When the dilemma is my own and the decisions are mine, I have a pretty refined process that I use. When the dilemma is someone else's but it affects me, it always takes longer and "costs" me more than was necessary. Here are some of the reasons:
1. Decision making by more than one person is a group effort. EVERYONE is going to have an opinion, seldom will two or more people totally agree, and everyone wants to be in charge - except the person that is supposed to be.
2. Everyone has the right to have an opinion. However, leaders are supposed to keep irrelevant statements to a minimum. Remember, opinions are like noses - everyone has one and they all smell. Don't lose focus of the real mission, real issue or real problem. Don't be distracted.
3. About fifteen years ago, the new leadership concept said that we all need to be consensus builders. I look at this the same way I do at "time out". If it works use it; but more often than not I find that it doesn't, and it's just another example of "lazy leadership".
4. About ten years ago, I began noticing that leaders weren't leading any more. If they are not building consensus, then they are being politically correct and more worried about avoiding legal entanglements and hurting people's feelings than doing the right thing.
5. The philosophy of "Damned if you do and damned if you don't", seems to have dulled our sense of conscious, confused our sense of moral outrage and offered many people excuses for more misbehavior.
So if you sit on a council, board or other in any leadership position, here are some tips to help you move through the decision making process:
1. Decision making should be based on facts, not speculations or emotions. Certainly we all have our prejudices and biases, but should only be considered if relevant to the decision making process.
2. Your time is important, but so is the time of the person(s) waiting on your decision. Be professional and communicate. Decisions may be delayed; however remember to keep the people waiting up-to-date on the status; otherwise they feel ignored (which most of us don't appreciate).
3. Consensus building is fine, but it is a good idea to have other skills in your tool box. There are some things that cannot and should not be negotiated. Negotiations don't always work - decisions still have to be made - be prepared to make a command level decision if necessary.
4. If you are part of a council, board or other leadership position, you already know if things are functioning properly or just occupying space. If your leader ain't leading, then replace them. But be careful, you might end up in that position.
5. Remember, "Damned if you do and damned if you don't" is never equal. Do the right thing!" I could write pages on this, but I would never be able to explain it any better. If youunderstand it, I don't need to explain it. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, you probably never would understand the explanation.
I have learned that most people live in response to their circumstance. Very few people actually make decisions about where they want to go and what they want to do and have a plan to go there and do that.
I have been fortunate enough to interact with several people considered "success" stories and studied those individuals to determine what had helped them be successful. It probably would have been nice and proper if my interests had been altruistic, but they weren't. Selfishly, I simply wanted to succeed myself.
I determined that too much activity and energy was being spent on unproductive "things" and unproductive people. I found that "trying to fix the world" would not work. The world cannot be "fixed", but it can be influenced.
If you are looking for a quick fix to your life, forget it - there aren't any. If you're willing to work, if you're willing to make changes, if you're willing to be held accountable - positive changes will occur. Usually these are slow in coming and almost always begin with YOU. You might not find any answers in my writings; you may only find more questions.
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Visit Bob's website at www.BTB4success.com to find out more information about "Anderson's Rules" , as well as topics for speaking engagements.
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Anderson's Rules (E-book)
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