January 7, 2021 –
My son, who lives in Alexandria, VA, shared this story. He was out jogging early in the morning and came upon a young couple of bicycle riders. They had stopped and appeared confused. So, he asked them if he could help them. “Yes,” the young male replied. “We don’t know where to start.” My son asked them, “Where do you want to go?” The female said, “We want to bicycle to the Capital.” “Well you’re on the right path,” my son replied. “Follow it until you come to the fork in the trail. Then, take either path, both lead to the Capital. Though you may take the right fork, it’s more scenic.”
When business people come to the fork in the road and must decide, they’re searching for more than a scenic path.
Seven ideas to help you make better decisions:
- Get good advice from decision-makers you trust. Don’t be stubborn, there are people smarter than you and have more experience in making decisions.
- Be sure of the facts; weighing all the variables. Identify the relevant information and discard the rest.
- Faced with a decision, choose wisely. You are free to choose, but you are responsible for the results of your choice. A person can choose to not keep up with the advances in their career, but they find themselves out of touch and falling behind in their job.
- Learn from your past decisions. Follow up on the outcome. When you follow up, you gain new experience that helps with the next choice.
- If possible, don’t rush decisions. Often, problems will solve themselves. If the situation is important and urgent, don’t procrastinate. The right decision executed today is better than a superior choice next week.
- Trust your instinct.
- Accept responsibility, regardless of the outcome.
As for jogging, bicycling, or giving directions, I leave that to someone else.