WORDS TO LEAD BY - Decisive

Repost from February 24, 2013.

Continuing with lessons from Wally Adamchik's book, titled Construction Leadership from A to Z which explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is DECISIVE

DECISIVE

Decisive - having the power to solve or conclude; absolute; characterized by determination and firmness; resolute

"It's better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong than to agonize at length and be right too late." - Unknown

People want those who lead them to be able to make a decision – and stick with it. Ambivalence is confusing, demoralizing, counterproductive, and can even be life threatening. Decisiveness gets things moving; it can help you accomplish great things.

A decision may not be perfect, but it is far better to execute a good plan in a timely manner than to continue to plan, analyze, and agonize over the 100 percent right decision that gets implemented too late. The Marine Corps calls this the “75 Percent Solution.” They recognize that conditions will never be 100 percent perfect for you to make your decision and execute your plan…. They define it as the ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear, forthright manner.

One of the best things you can do to make better decisions is to expose yourself to situations and scenarios that add to your library of scripts. … The mind doesn’t need to actually experience the event to learn the script. Talking about or participating in a simulation is good enough if properly described, discussed, and debriefed.

Here is the deal: If you choose to be a leader, you are being paid for two roles – to make decisions and to get people to act on those decisions. But know this: You will make mistakes. That is not a reason to be indecisive. In fact, make the decision, right or wrong, and learn from it (create a new script). Those you lead will thank you with higher productivity.

"The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision." - Maimonides

Decisiveness Jumpstart:

• Embrace imperfection.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Create scenarios and "what if" them so when faced with them you will be ready.
• Don't be angry. Angry people make poor decisions.

Today, we live in a fast-paced world demanding fast-paced decisions. And yet, we do not want those decisions to be wrong, or even less than perfect, because of the potential human or financial impact. I certainly struggle with this lesson myself. I am always looking for a little more data and information to obtain the 100% right answer. You know what? There may or may not be a 100% correct solution; however, there are many 75%, 80%, 85%, and 90% correct solutions. As long as the safety and well-being of our employees and the public are not at risk, then perhaps a 75% solution executed effectively and implemented in a timely manner is an acceptable course of action. Let’s choose to be more decisive today and every day!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc