I’m talking about decisions that carry more weight than what you’re eating for dinner. I’m talking more about things like whether you should signficantly increase your prices, if you should sell your business, if it’s time to buy a competitor. Bigger decisions.
When we get stuck in a state of indecision, it’s usually because the positive intent we have driving the action or goal has been split into multiple parts. In other words, you are able to think about more than one route to achieve the intent.
(You may need some help to understand the real drivers behind your actions as some of it may be unconscious. Feel free to ask me more about that.)
The go-to for most is a good ol’ pros and cons list. The issue with these is that when we look at them, we tend to apply the same weight of importance to each item. I can pretty much guarantee that they won’t all be equal so unless you adjust the size of your writing to compensate, it doesn’t really work.
So, what’s a better option?
Four questions. That’s all it takes.
In just four questions, you can understand what’s driving you, the ecology of the situation, and what the right decision is for you.
Keep ‘x’ as the same for each and it should represent what you’re trying to work out.
If I do [x], what will I get?
If I do [x], what won’t I get?
If I don’t do [x], what will I get?
If I don’t do [x], what won’t I get?
Here’s a filled in version where x = sell my business.
If I sell my business, what will I get?
If I sell my business, what won’t I get?
If I don’t sell my business, what will I get?
If I don’t sell my business, what won’t I get?
Now tap into your head, heart, and gut. Do your answers all line up and make it clear what to do? If not, adjust [x] accordingly and run through it again.
If you or your team could do with some help on decision-making, get in touch
