• Develop a plan. You can get where you are going much faster if you have a road map. Developing a plan for your business that includes a vision, objectives, and critical success factors creates a road map. Evaluating potential problems and challenges before they happen often eliminates crisis. Reviewing financial, equipment, and employee needs creates preparation. Developing a marketing, advertising, and customer growth plan ensures focusing on the right activities. Develop a plan and revisit it frequently.


• Execution is key. Developing a plan is the first step to executing your plan. Daily action steps are what make it come to fruition. Do you and your team members know what they need to do, focus on, and accomplish in order to make the business goals a reality? Frequent and consistent communication with your team will help ensure that everyone is working towards the right outcomes.


• Know your customers. Who are your customers and why do they buy from you? What makes your product or service different or better? Creating and growing a loyal customer base is the key to business sustainability. If asked, customers will tell you exactly what they need. Ask frequently and listen intently. As the world changes so do customers requirements of your product or service


• Evaluate competition. Who is your competition and how do you compare? Competitive research is well worth the time and effort. Know what your business is up against. Understand competitor's products and services and how potential customers compare those products or services to your company. This knowledge is vital as it allows you to make well-informed advertising and marketing decisions.


• Be able to adapt. Business environments and customers change. The ability to adapt to the ever-changing face of business is just as important as planning. Your plan provides the road map but every once in awhile there will be obstacles located in the middle of the road and a course correction will be necessary. Being able to adapt quickly will allow the course correction to be as seamless as possible.


• Maintain focus. Know where you going and what you want to achieve at all times. Distractions can mean death to a business. It becomes very easy to lose sight of the big picture when a distraction presents itself. Again, count on your plan to provide the road map and make goal-oriented decisions. Distractions have a bad habit to allowing us to race down blind alleys and take our eyes off of the real objectives.

We are bombarded with many decisions every day, and thankfully those decisions require little thought as we are relying on past habits and experiences to make the right decision at that moment.

At times, however, the problem is a bit larger or the decision is more complex. It is in these instances that a conscious and objective decision-making process is needed.

In these cases there are two qualities that will lead to more effective decisions: logic and an open mind. When you approach a problem, strip your mind of preconceived opinions and prejudices. Logically assemble and learn the facts of the situation. Webster defines logic as "the science of formal reasoning; the unavoidable cause and effect relationship between events to a particular conclusion." By understanding the cause and effect relationship involved in a situation, you can formulate solutions that deal with the root of the problem, not just the results. By keeping an open mind, you can creatively develop many alternatives from which to choose when making your decision. The logical, open-minded approach to making decisions involves the following process: 

1. Identify and define the problem: You must clearly define the problem before you can solve it. Problems that remain vague resist resolution and create anxiety. Hazy, vague issues are impossible to deal with, and they often create a periphery of new problems. Crystallize the issues so you can deal with them one at time.


2. Gather and analyze information: You must have accurate information to solve issues appropriately. If in your haste to find a solution you short-change this part of the process, you can create unnecessary delays and unintended results. The more information you gather about a particular issue, the more likely you will be able to reach a satisfactory decision.


3. Development alternative solutions: If a solution to an issue surfaces quickly, it's tempting to simply do it. The first solution you come up with, although acceptable, may not be the best. Take time to develop alternative solutions even when you don't think you need them and be creative.


4. Choose the best alternative: Most problems have several acceptable solutions. Picking the best one becomes a matter of degree. Narrow your choices down to a few of the best alternatives by evaluating your options. Consider how the solutions aligns with your goals, how it affects costs, what time is required, what are the risks, what do others you trust think, etc. After evaluating all alternatives, choose the one that best solves your problem.


5. Take action: Now that you have weighed all of your alternatives and have chosen the best course of action, it's time to act.


6. Evaluate the decision: Finally, you should structure in-progress reviews and a final evaluation in order to gauge progress and evaluate final results.

Implementing these steps can be instrumental in breaking large challenges, issues, or problems into manageable steps. Don't let "life" overwhelm you. Using this proven decision making model will enhance your confidence. Your personal and professional success is dependent upon your ability to make sound decisions in an appropriate time frame. 

email David

visit our website

"Without goals, and plans to reach them,  

you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination."

Fitzhugh Dodson