The quick, ill-thought-out decision-which is usually no more than an emotional reaction-is worth little. The more experience an executive has, of course, the more his "off-the-top-of-the-head" reactions turn out to be sensible decisions. But, in a sense, he is going through all of the procedures of analysis in that split second.
There will be many times that you will be forced into the position of making immediate decisions, and you must face them. If you strive constantly, even when you are in the lowliest positions, to get in the habit of being decisive about the small tasks, then when you become responsible for the big decisions you will make them easily. Educate yourself and expand your abilities, as we have discussed previously, and you will have given yourself the best preparation for the quick decision.
We have emphasized the need for detailed analysis, but be careful of using this as a method for procrastination. You can study all sides of a problem so many times and be so objective about it that it will be impossible for you to take a stand. Keep the goals and the needs of your company firmly fixed in your mind, and keep yourself and the company moving ahead. Fear of making the wrong decision is the worst problem. Of course, no one wants to make bad decisions, but remember that a wrong one made on time is usually better than a right one made too late.
We have spent a good deal of time talking about the need for daring, imagination and creativity. In the area of decision making these traits are particularly important. The higher you climb in corporate life the more danger there is that you will use a formula for analysis and decision. If you find yourself saying to your associates every time you offer a solution, "I did it this way last year when a similar problem came up," you may be getting stale. Look for unusual solutions and put them to a test. Don't be satisfied with last year's solutions.
Experts on Decisions
While an open mind is priceless, it is priceless only when its owner has the courage to make a final decision which closes the mind for action after the process of viewing all sides of the question has been completed. Failure to make a decision after due consideration of all the facts will quickly brand a man as unfit for a position of responsibility. Not all of your decisions will be correct. None of us is perfect. But if you get into the habit of making decisions, experience will develop your judgment to a point where more and more of your decisions will be right. After all, it is better to be right fifty-one percent of the time and get something done, than it is to get nothing done because you fear to reach a decision. H. W. Andrews
The moment a question comes to your mind, see yourself mentally taking hold of it and disposing of it. In that moment is your choice made. Thus you learn to take the path to the right. Thus you learn to become the decider and not the vacillator. H. Van Anderson
Decision and determination are the engineer and fireman of our train to opportunity and success. Burt Lawlor
Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it. Gordon Graham
Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do the work. J. G. Pollard
An effective executive makes these decisions as a systematic process with clearly defined elements and in a distinct sequence of steps. Peter F. Drucker
Beaten paths are for beaten men. Eric Johnston
When people try to solve a problem, their most typical difficulty is trying to make full use of information available. A case in point is the story of the truck that was stuck in an underpass. Various onlookers tried to be helpful by suggesting ways for extricating it, but all their suggestions involved reasonably major deformations-either of the truck or of the underpass. At this point, a little boy stepped forth and suggested letting air out of the tires. Many such stories exist in science and invention, and all serve to show the same point: A solution, once stated, can be seen as obvious. Ray Hyman
Habits are formed by action. The way to become a good administrator is to administer. This is also the way to become a bad administrator: for vice is a habit too. The minimum function of the administrator is to decide, and, since he has to make more decisions than most men, he has the chance to be either an especially good or an especially bad man. Robert M. Hutchins
We know that when we are looking for men with executive ability to promote, their technical knowledge at that stage is often relatively less important than their ability to deal with more abstract problems involving judgment and ability to reason. A. L. Nickerson
Caesar divided his enemy into smaller groups and concentrated on them one at a time. Similarly, when attacking a tough problem, break it into smaller, easier problems, conquering them one at a time. Paul A. Vatter
Defining the situation always requires a decision on objectives, that is, on values and their relationship. It always requires a decision on the risk the manager is willing to run. It always, in other words, requires judgment and a deliberate choice between values. Peter F. Drucker
No one man is capable of determining the facts and making all the decisions in the complex industrial economy in which we live and work. To live with one's peers, to have respect and to have the ability to abide by the decisions of the recognized authority, these are the qualities essential to success. Gilbert W. Chapman
We sometimes see a fool possessed of talent, but never of judgment. La Rochefoucauld
Ideas to Remember
- If you and your company have a strong program, de cisions will be easier.
- Never be satisfied that the present method of doing something is the best way.
- Learn to look for problems; don't wait for them to appear.
- Gather the facts.
- Put your experience behind every decision.
- Look at all sides of the problem with objectivity.
- Confer with associates.
- Balance the details against the overall plans and needs.
- Don't procrastinate; learn to decide quickly.
- Don't use a formula to make decisions.
- Look for unusual, imaginative solutions.
