When Making Major Decisions

Sort out your needs and wants in order to avoid being seduced by your wants. Try to assemble more than three options in order avoid the No Nothing, Do a Lot, and Do Something In-Between trap. To achieve greater objectivity, consider what you'd advise a good friend who was facing the same circumstances. If possible, move slowly on decisions which are hard or impossible to reverse and more quickly on those which can be easily reversed. Beware when your team rapidly reaches agreement on a particular course of action. Name a devil's advocate to argue against the action. [Rotate that role so the same person doesn't get stuck with it.] Ask your team to list the actions which would be taken if the goal is to produce a disaster. You may find that you are close to taking actions which will make some of those mistakes. Consider how any proposed course of action would look on the front page of the newspaper. [Never forget the human element.] Consider how any proposed action will affect those who will bear the greatest burden and pay the greatest price. Pretend that the proposed action has failed and then pinpoint the likely reason for the failure. Do that before taking the action. Consult a hard-nosed advisor who will give you an honest and frank opinion without softening any language. On especially sensitive matters, if you don't have to act quickly, slow down.