Many small business owners, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals suffer from the same problem. Because they lead their business and have limited (or in many case no) staff, there is no one whom they can bounce ideas off of or turn to for advice.
The result is that when faced with difficult decisions or moving into new areas of thought, they can tend to jump too quickly to a decision.
It’s a natural (and logical) process–they are programmed to get things done, they want to do instead of debate, and they don’t want to waste time and end up back at the same point where they started.
But there is an inherent danger in this approach.
Despite my core belief that the cost of no decision almost always outweighs the cost of a bad decision made at the right time, my experience tells me that there are times when small business leaders just need to step back, take more time, and gather more input before making a decision.
It is a difficult thing to do and it often feels like it goes against everything you believe in, and that’s the reason you need a tool to help you do it.
The good news is that there is a very simple tool you can use that works every time.
All you need to do is to ask yourself this question and answer it honestly: If someone else told you what they were preparing to do and how they reached the decision, would you tell them that they had done the necessary work and were ready to take action?
If you can honestly answer with an enthusiastic “Yes,” then go ahead and take the action. But if the answer is no, probe your mind a bit and identify the reasons you are saying “No.” Then take action to get the information, advice, insight, or support that you need to move you to the place where you can say “Yes.”
A Word of Caution: This is one of those things that feels easy to do, but is not. It takes a lot of fortitude to ask and honestly answer the above question. But if you can train yourself to do it, you will make better decisions and create more powerful results. Try it and see for yourself.
