Posted on: 16 January, 2002
Author: Martin Avis
Many years ago when I was young and callow, I ... ... to attend a ... ... was, I couldn't make up my mind whether to goor not. I ... the French proverb Many years ago when I was young and callow, I receivedan invitation to attend a 'Decision-Makers' conference.Trouble was, I couldn't make up my mind whether to goor not. I didn't.As the French proverb says, "Between two stools, yousit on the floor."Like a great many people before and after me, I had tolearn the hard way to actively take control of my life.Prevarication is a poor master, but one that will ruleyou with a rod of iron if you don't chose to stop it.Banish from your mind and your vocabulary the words,'I'll think about it.' You won't. Something else willtake your eye and divert your attention. Unless youmake a positive decision to do or not to do, right now,you are very unlikely to revisit.Nobody ever became a success by hesitating. Successcomes to those who jump in and have a go.I am not by any means suggesting that you shouldembrace every hare-brained scheme or half-baked ideathat you come across. Far from it. What I am saying isthat you must develop the skill to actively decide whatto do in any given situation and not leave the resultto chance.For example, I get about 200 emails a day. Whenever Igo to my inbox I have to make quick choices about allthe emails waiting to get my attention:Send it straight to trashSave it in a pending fileRead it immediatelyForward it to someone elseAct on its contentsThere may be other choices, but the point is made. If Idon't actively decide between these options I wouldvery quickly get an inbox so full that I would neverget the chance to act on any of them.Life and business is very much like that. In thistwenty-first century we live in, only those who havemastered the art of 'keeping up' can survive andthrive. There is no room for procrastination.Very often the only decision you need to make iswhether to act or not. Once you have made that positivecommitment to yourself, the 'putting into action' partof the equation follows naturally.Don't over analyze.Often, the biggest hurdle to cross in reaching adecision one way or the other is the fear that youhaven't considered all the options. Forget it! Unlessyou are being forced to decide something completelyoutside your field of experience you already have allthe information you need. Your brain has spent yearssucking in data from all over the place. Let thatincredibly complex computer weigh the options for youin the background. Your subconscious moves much fasterthan your conscious thought processes.There are two kinds of decisions.The first kind are those that cannot be reversed. Youhave to take longer over these, but there is still novalue in putting off the inevitable. In these kinds ofdecisions, a maybe is the same as a no. You will havedecided by default. If it all goes wrong then, you willbe at fault twice - once for not deciding at all andonce for allowing the wrong outcome to happen.The other kind of decisions account for the vastmajority: those that can be changed, modified oradapted after they have been made. There is never anygood reason to put off actively making these decisions.Go with your gut instinct. 90% of the time it will beright. Even in the times it isn't, you can reverse itpretty quickly. Don't be frightened of losing a littleface. In business, someone who has the guts to make adecision, and then, in the light of new facts, thecourage to decide to reverse it, is someone destinedfor the top.Don't think too far in the future.Some situations try to force you to decide based on theoutcome in the long term. This is rarely sound. Ofcourse, the long-term objective is valid, but if itbankrupts you or the company in the short-term, thatdecision is flawed.When to avoid making a decision.After all I have said about the power of positivedecision making, it might seem odd to condone theopposite. However, it is just as valid to decide not todo something as to decide to do it. The important thingis to decide.Some questions are unanswerable and sometimes yousimply don't have enough facts to make an informeddecision. In these cases, your active decision is towait, gather more facts, or seek advice. 'Do nothing'is not an option.I leave the final words to two successful businessmenfrom opposite sides of the Atlantic:'If I had to sum up in one word what makes a goodmanager, I'd say decisiveness. You can use the fanciestcomputers to gather the numbers, but in the end youhave to set a timetable and act.' Lee Iacocca, formerChrysler chief.'A lot of companies I deal with seem incapable ofmaking a decision. It doesn't matter if the decisionyou make is right or wrong. What matters is that youmake it and don't waste your company's time. If youmake the decision, you begin to distinguish the goodfrom the bad.' Peter Kindersley, UK publisher. Article Tags: Active Decision Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com