Decision making for success
Decision making for success
Legacies from a bygone era only serve to remind us of how far we’ve come and how much more is needed. The decision making process in the business arena has taken a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the days of old. Unfortunately, far too many managers neglected to make the turn from reliance on not having enough information to ‘going with what you have’. The global changes that have forced business into uncomfortable, but necessary actions has also changed the dynamic of the decision making process such that the process is not depicted as a linear design, but a pie chart. The decision making pie chart is part rationale, part gut, part information and part opinion. The percentages of those parts vary with the nature of the business and the person making the decision. However, all of those parts sit in a pie pan called ‘timing’.
Knowing when the right time to make a decision is is more an art form than science, but it is an essential piece of the equation. What makes it such an important piece is that it can jettison a manager’s career or send it into a crash and burn. The speed with which business moves in this global environment makes it even harder to have all the information at the time that it is needed. Managers untrained in the fine art of ‘timing’ as a factor in decision making will oftentimes waffle around the decision before actually moving it forward. What they fail to realize is that when they delay a decision in an effort to minimize the risk, they actually increase the risk through their procrastination. Decision making in the global environment is about (1) analysis of factors, (2) formulating a strategy, (3) implementing the decision and (4) having the flexibility to make changes where needed.
The global business environment is not a place where waffling around a decision can be tolerated. As more countries gear up to become players in the global game, the rules that governed the decision making process have been replaced by more staunch realities. The hard core reality is that it is harder and harder to waffle when there is so much at stake.
Decision making for success - To learn more about this author, visit Lee Meadows's Website.
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Waffle, waffle move or topple, make a decision, please! The increasing complexity of global business, expanding markets and seemingly endless opportunities in which to compete for consumer attention has created a new paradigm in which managers and leaders are forced to evaluate the quality, timeliness and frequency of their decision making. The ancient luxury of letting a decision sit in the in-box for months at a time, hoping that it will go away, is reflective of a time when domestic tranquility was a 60 percent market share and competition was a gentleman’s agreement about not airing each other’s dirty laundry. In that atmosphere, managers were taught numerous rational decision making processes, all of which were designed to minimize the human equation and maximize the objectivity of the decision. A crucial variable in the decision mix was ‘the amount of information needed’ before rendering a rational decision. This often misused and misaligned variable became the accepted norm for delaying a decision until all the ‘facts’ were known. It was an incredible assumption, even for a time when the domestic marketplace was dominated by brand name producers. In an odd sort of way, the process allowed for rewarding ‘not’ making a decision as opposed to actually making one. Consequently, managers of that era took comfort knowing that many of their risk-aversive decisions would move them up the corporate ladder a lot faster than a decision that ran a greater risk of not working. In doing so, we created a culture of comfort as opposed to one of constant innovation.
Legacies from a bygone era only serve to remind us of how far we’ve come and how much more is needed. The decision making process in the business arena has taken a one hundred and eighty degree turn from the days of old. Unfortunately, far too many managers neglected to make the turn from reliance on not having enough information to ‘going with what you have’. The global changes that have forced business into uncomfortable, but necessary actions has also changed the dynamic of the decision making process such that the process is not depicted as a linear design, but a pie chart. The decision making pie chart is part rationale, part gut, part information and part opinion. The percentages of those parts vary with the nature of the business and the person making the decision. However, all of those parts sit in a pie pan called ‘timing’.
Knowing when the right time to make a decision is is more an art form than science, but it is an essential piece of the equation. What makes it such an important piece is that it can jettison a manager’s career or send it into a crash and burn. The speed with which business moves in this global environment makes it even harder to have all the information at the time that it is needed. Managers untrained in the fine art of ‘timing’ as a factor in decision making will oftentimes waffle around the decision before actually moving it forward. What they fail to realize is that when they delay a decision in an effort to minimize the risk, they actually increase the risk through their procrastination. Decision making in the global environment is about (1) analysis of factors, (2) formulating a strategy, (3) implementing the decision and (4) having the flexibility to make changes where needed.
The global business environment is not a place where waffling around a decision can be tolerated. As more countries gear up to become players in the global game, the rules that governed the decision making process have been replaced by more staunch realities. The hard core reality is that it is harder and harder to waffle when there is so much at stake.
Decision making for success - To learn more about this author, visit Lee Meadows's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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