Any Decision Is Better Than Indecision
The right answer or response to any business situation is, of course, the best answer. The right response is the one decided upon after contemplating various alternatives, weighing the merits, cost, return on investment, risk, etc. and concluding which response will yield the best overall result for you. That is hopefully the right answer – the best answer – and if all goes as planned and it works, you were in fact right. Do this enough times and you will be assured of reaching your goals and objectives.
However, it doesn’t always work out as planned and sometimes the best answer ends up being the second best response, the one previously deemed the wrong answer, the choice you did not first choose, the strategy that after careful consideration was considered to be less likely to yield the results you desired and thus was rejected. The wrong answer is the second best answer and therefore a reasonable selection when the original choice fails.
In fact, the wrong answer, the second best answer, if selected first is still a reasonable decision and action plan. Most “wrong” answers are still pretty reasonable. Remember, any idea or response you have to deal with resolution of an issue can be made to work or you would not have contemplated it in the first place. There may appear to be great ideas, adequate ideas and lousy ideas, but with drive and determination, passion and commitment, even the lousy idea can be made to work. When are we always correct in our judgment? We could miscalculate and choose a lousy idea which, if well implemented, has terrific results.
It’s a lack of any decision at all that is lethal. Doubt kills the warrior.
Failing to act in the face of crisis is self-destructive. Waiting too long to respond to changing conditions and implementing a new strategy can be self-defeating. Delaying a decision trying to figure out which idea is the best, which response is the safest, which strategy the most appropriate is unnecessary. Just make a decision.
This we see acted out all the time, as effective decision-making is an important quality for a good leader. If a manager makes decisions, even if making ones that end up not working out as projected, effective leadership will still carry the workforce to the goal one way or another. Even wrong decisions can be made right with the appropriate leadership. Indecisiveness causes employees to lose faith, lose momentum, lose commitment, lose focus, desire and to accept failure. “What’s the difference,” they think, “if the boss is not doing anything about it, why should I care?”
Making no decision deteriorates leadership and destroys power and authority of the manager. Productivity will plummet and control will disappear. Do not allow this to happen. If you are the owner or key decision maker, make the important decisions as soon as possible. Right or wrong, it will be infinitely better than no decision at all.
