5 Steps to Making Great Decisions

A leader guides by making decisions…calling the plays that keeps the team moving

That’s why they call them leaders, but frequently it’s hard to know what needs to be done. So many choices, so many factors to consider. When faced with the problem of figuring out what needs to be next, it’s helpful to have some guidelines to minimize the guesswork.

Here’s 5 simple keys to help you make and implement consistent great decisions:

1. Frame the issue and quickly get your options on the table. 
Decision making works a lot like computers. They call it GIGO, garbage in equals garbage out. If you have bad information you’ll make bad decisions. If you have great information you’ll make great decisions.  Do your research. Get input from all key parties involved.

Those closest to the situation have the most information and best instincts. You may not agree with them but you need to know what they are thinking and why. Then unemotionally clarify your choices. Eliminate the obvious. Put the best options down on paper.

2. The Right Time
Timing is everything! The Leader has to watch his team like a hawk! They have to anticipate problems. By doing that they have time to get their options in advance of calling a shot. They have time to not only make the best choice but also pick the best time to implement it. A great decision made too late is a poor decision.

3. Make the call! 
There is thinking time and there is GO time! At some point you have to stop gathering facts because you have ENOUGH facts. Past that point all you are doing is clouding the issue. Too much information and you find too many reasons why nothing will work. Instead of helping you make a better decision it causes you to delay making the RIGHT decision. Just like there’s a time to get your options on the table, there is a time to say ENOUGH - I know what I need to know. Let’s go NOW!

4. Sell the Decision—inspire confidence. 
You can’t just TELL, you must SELL them on it. Any kind of change is going to be disruptive. People don’t like change. It requires extra effort to adjust to new things. Most would rather keep on doing the same things the same way. You need to share with them the consequences of staying on the same course. Let them know the other options you have considered and then show the disadvantages of each. That gives them the frame of reference to buy in and accept your new plan because they understand why this appears to be the best choice.

When you share some of the thought processes with them it allows them to feel part of the team and to really get behind the new direction as opposed to feeling like they are being bossed around for no understandable reason.

5. Implement Immediately and Decisively. 
A mediocre decision executed with enthusiasm will always beat an excellent decision executed half-heartedly. Don’t hesitate, charge. Make the adjustments fast. Don’t leave room for doubt. Lead the way making all the changes involves to get on the new course right away. Put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into the move. Let everyone see you are excited about it and expecting great new results for everyone to come from what you are now doing!

You want to start racing in the direction as fast as possible so you can find out quickly if this is exactly the right call or you need to make any other adjustments. You’ll never know until you get the team moving. As soon as you see the next step that needs to be taken, jump on it so you can keep improving things and give your people better and better chances to be the most productive. 

All teams go through times of change. Making it happen successfully can be a leader's finest hour. More opportunities for success will be created and the team can be re-energized and re-united the in the process!

The #1 Thing a Leader MUST Do

40 ways you COULD go, but which way WILL you go?

Teams ONLY work when they are unified behind a common purpose and common plan.

There’s always lots of opinions and options on anything that needs to be done. Many of them can be successful. But NO team will win when everyone is going in different directions. That’s where the leader comes in, to pull the team together - to call the play.

President George Bush described this as being the “Chief Decider.”

For better or worse, the Leader is the One
Someone has to make the final decision. Someone has to pull the team together and unify them behind one course of action. It takes courage. Know one ever knows the future. There’s always the possibility of failure. If the Leader decides wrong, everyone will know who to blame. That’s why this is the leader’s biggest responsibility.  When the time comes, they must act. They can’t delay or hesitate, they have to choose or the unity disintegrates.

 No MEAL lasts forever and no DECISION lasts forever
Of course the pressure never really let’s up on the leader. If it’s a good decision, positive things will happen and lead to a whole new arena of possibilities…all requiring more decisions. If it’s a bad call, the leader must jump into action and call another play to correct things. 

Leading is like driving a car - you can’t go to sleep.
Teams are like cars, they are always moving and there is always something coming up around the bend. They reach different stages in their growth – the same game plan, activity cycle, products, recognition, etc, never works forever.  If you are a teacher, the same techniques won’t necessarily work all year to keep your students interested, involved and participating. When their attention starts to wander you have to change things up. If you are a parent you know have to constantlly come up with different ideas to keep your kids doing their homework, behaving and doing their chores. When the leader in any arena sees attention, excitement and growth starting to peek IT’S TIME to call a new play. If he/she isn’t PAYING ATTENTION, they won’t know when to act or have any idea how to react. The closer they watch the more reaction time they have before they have to act.

If you’re in charge, don’t be afraid to call the play - the team is depending on you! You may not ever be a perfect leader but if you keep calling plays, you'll keep your team moving.

55% of the Time

Does leadership intimidate you?

Are you afraid of making mistakes? Do you find yourself to holding back and passing on opportunities to take promotions because you are afraid of the pressure? Are you afraid of making the wrong decisions?

Relax.

Its not a perfect world.

Look around. Do you see perfection anywhere?

Here’s the secret…

To Be Good in Management You Only Have to Make the Right Decision 55% of the time.

No one is perfect. You aren’t selected because they think you’ll be perfect. Do the best you can.

Make the best decisions you can and you’ll be fine.

If you make some bad calls you’ll learn and improve.

When you get the chance to step up and lead, do it!

No one is expecting you to be perfect.

5 questions for Occupy Wall Street

I’d like to take you seriously and feel good about what you’re doing however it’s awfully hard when what you’re doing and the way you’re going about it doesn’t seem to make any sense.

Maybe it would help if we could get some answers to some obvious questions. Here they are: 

1. What's the point? I'm asking this because it's hard to see how someone sitting in the grass or on a corner with a sign is going to cause a global reshift for good.  I can’t imagine CEO’s of major financial corporations looking out the window seeing people sitting and chanting and feeling compelled to do anything at all.

2. What changes do you want to make? You've got to be specific and have ideas.  It's no good to sit and complain, so what are your ideas and suggestions?  Have you gotten far enough along to have a “list of demands”?  There is obviously a huge itch you have that desperately needs to be scratched I’m just not sure exactly where it is, how you want it to be scratched, and who you want to scratch it. 

3.  Who's in charge? - you say it’s a leaderless movement. That’s like a headless body.  Any organization has to have a head otherwise you don’t have an army you have a mob. For all purposes it seems like that’s what you have.  When we had the peaceful demonstrations for civil rights obviously Martin Luther King was in charge.  In India Ghandi was in charge.  You can’t expect serious people to take you seriously when you approach them like a mob.

4.  Do you all agree on anything? Do you actually agree or are you thousands of people with thousands of different ideas wanting thousands of different things creating situations where you’ll never be satisfied?  How do you know, if you don’t have agreement, that some of the changes you want aren’t different from the changes the guy sitting next to you wants.  That’s why you need leaders, to bring unity and focus.

5.  What’s your next step? Where do you go from here?  You have created a lot of attention for yourselves by forcing your way into the spotlight so now people are looking at you and wondering what is going on, what’s your point, why should you be taken seriously?  I’m one of those people and would appreciate your help in explaining a few mysteries about your “movement”.This is what I’m wondering because right now it looks like a bunch of childish, entitled, people crying, raging against the machine, but too lazy to get in the process of making the changes that need to be made. I’m sure that enrages you but that’s exactly what that looks like. It’ll be great to hear why you think that’s not the case.  

All Of The People All Of The Time

Sometimes you just have to give them what you think is best. Life can't always be a democracy.When spending time with family and friends the following scene is repeated time and time again.

See if this sounds familiar…

“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat. Where would you like to eat?”

“I don’t care, anyplace is fine with me.””

“Anybody else have any favorites? Anyone? No? Are you sure?”

“We don’t care. It's all good. Let’s just go someplace”

“OK, I have an idea let’s go to …(insert the restaurant name of your choice)”

“Oh no, I hate that place. Last time I was in there…blah blah blah...”

“Well then how about…(restaurant #2)

“I was there last week and the service was terrible and two of us had to send back our steaks. I don’t want to go there.”

“Well how about…” (repeat ad nauseum)

This goes on and on with one after another shooting down every possibility launched until you get tired of it and pick a place yourself and say here’s where we’re going to go.

We had a similar situation show up in business.  

Our manager, Bob Turley, decided to combine our Monday morning manager meeting with a breakfast. He thought it would be more fun for everyone. Of course he was buying. Should have been a great deal for us, wouldn’t you think?

But, no because there was another issue. It seems Bob, being the kind and nice guy that he is, decided he’d let us pick the time. Everyone wanted a time that would work great for them. Plus, some also had children to drop off at school and other obligations. Into this setting came Bob with the innocent question,”What time do you all want to meet?”

The answer to this question never came but we did go through about a six week period of changing from nine, to ten, to eleven, to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and back to Monday again. This merry-go-round ended the morning it appeared we finally picked the perfect time.

It seemed like this issue was behind us.

We were all relieved. We had a great breakfast and meeting but as we were leaving, believe it or not, one knuckle-head actually said…”Bob, this was great but would you mind if next we moved the time back and started 30 minutes later?”

Bob underwent an instantaneous transformation into a business version of The Incredible Hulk. ”The manager breakfast is going to be every Monday at 9am from now on! I am sick and tired of trying to please you guys and if you’re not here at 9 I’ll fire your a**!”

It’s impossible.

As an observer of this series of events I realized more than ever that…you can’t please all the people all of the time.

Another way of saying the same thing is that…a surefire formula for failure is trying to please all of the people all of the time.

The moral of the story: When you’re in charge and working with others remember this—it’s great to be accommodating, but don’t expect everybody to agree because 99% of the time it’s not going to happen. It's not a big deal because its unavoidable.

Someone’s not going to be entirely happy with the choice and there’s no way to avoid it. 

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Do you go out of your way to try to please everyone on your team—and if so, are you happy with the results? What strategies do you use when you know there's no way everyone will be satisfied?

Dime A Dozen

Some leaders stand out in history. Are you more like President Lincoln or President Tyler? (Remember him? Me neither.) “No one wants to follow a Dead, Dull, Disillusioned Crybaby.” - Art Williams

Mediocre Leaders are a Dime a Dozen but Great Leaders are Priceless.

If you accept a Leadership position plan to give it your best. People want to be inspired.

If people are going to be putting their best efforts into a team they want to know that it counts for something special. The team will always be more energized when they are going for truly Big and Inspiring Goals!

No one wants to follow a weak leader.

Most leaders are mediocre and that’s what’s wrong with the economy, the government and the world. The right kind of Leader can make a big difference in whatever field they are in.

In all areas of life, an inspirational Leader is like water in the desert—they make people come alive. 

So, when you find yourself in a leadership position, then lead, inspire, motivate! Make your team proud and excited to be working with you! Make a decision to make a difference because…

Mediocre Leaders are a Dime a Dozen but Great Leaders are Priceless.

Winner's Book Club Selection of the Week: Called to Coach

What are his Winner Credentials?

Having coached young men in seven decades, Bobby Bowden is the second-winningest coach in major college football history. Bowden guided Florida State University to more than three hundred victories, two national championships, twelve Atlantic Coast Conference titles, finishing in the top five in the country in fourteen straight seasons, and he also led the Seminoles to Bowl Games in twenty-eight consecutive seasons during his thirty-four-year tenure. The patriarch of college football’s most famous coaching family, Bowden remains heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, annually awarding The National Bobby Bowden Award to a student-athlete for achievement on and off the field, including his conduct as a faith model in the community. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Reviews

This book comes highly recommended by Nick Saban, Head Coach, University of Alabama; Mack Brown, Head Coach, University of Texas; Lou Holtz, Former Coach, College Football Analyst, ESPN; President Jimmy Carter; Kenny Chesney and many others. Whether or not you're a fan of Florida State—or even football—you'll enjoy this book about faith, family values and a truly inspirational leader. >>Read more reviews at Amazon>>