The Keys to Becoming More Decisive

Have you ever read the play, Hamlet, by Shakespeare? They made me read it as school. Hamlet was a Danish Prince and the man who asked, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” As a matter of fact, Hamlet asked a great many more questions than that. Hamlet spends most of the play overthinking every aspect of his life. He broods unnecessarily over each and every action, until he drowns in his own thoughts. He may have been a prince in the play, but he is the king of indecisiveness in literature.

The plot is that Hamlet’s uncle murders Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark, to steal his crown and his wife (Hamlet’s mother). The ghost of Hamlet’s father then appears and asks Hamlet to kill his uncle and avenge his death. Hamlet has clear instructions, but still fails to act. He spends most of his time struggling with indecisiveness. Hamlet stalls first because he is not sure he can trust the ghost: “The spirit that I have seen may be a devil, and the devil hath power t’assume a pleasing shapse.” But Hamlet really can’t make up his mind about anything. He is forever procrastinating and stalling. Can you relate to this character? Are you decisive or do you get lost in your own thoughts and overwhelmed by choice?

Is it possible to become more decisive?

Today I want to look at whether it is possible to become more decisive. It is hard to make tough decisions because we don’t know what will happen in the future. When making a decision we are effectively being asked to predict the future, but that is impossible. The American author Philip Tetlock looked at the decisions of hundreds of business executives and found that they predicted the future only slightly better than chance! Meaning they frequently made bad decisions. In fact, computer algorithms are better at predicting outcomes than executives! However in describing the characteristics of the worst predictors, the author Tetlock identified the trait of ‘dogmatism’ – setting a course and refusing to change it, regardless of the facts or the opinions of others. Good decision makers will overcome their personal biases and assess all the facts. If someone offers you advice, LISTEN, even if at first you don’t agree. Put yourselves in their shoes, even try to argue their case. Spend some time thinking about their input, sleep on it if possible then ACT! Make a decision. Perhaps you will go with your original gut feeling, perhaps you’ll take on the new advice and change direction. Smart decision makers are prepared to change course, even if means admitting they were wrong.

Know your long-term goals

Before making any big decision, ask yourself where you want to be in five years. Have a clear vision of what you want. You need to make a choice that will help you get there. Every decision is easier if you know what you want for yourself long-term. What are you trying to achieve, why do you want to achieve it and how are you going to achieve it?

Is fear holding you back?

Try to identify why you are hesitating to make a decision. If you are afraid, ask yourself what is the best and worst thing that can happen. Spend some time thinking about both outcomes and then ACT. What’s do surfers say? Feel the fear and do it any way! Aim to go forward in stages – small manageable stages. This will help build your confidence. If you are feeling anxious do not over-think what you are doing, but draw up a careful plan, again with stages and then implement those stages, one at a time but just keep going forward, don’t stall.

Let go of perfection

I have heard entrepreneurs say that sometimes good enough is perfect. That means if you keep stalling because you haven’t perfected a product or service, you may never get to market. Sometimes we just have to do our best and get in there. We just have to have a go, even when we are not quite ready. Rather than faltering and standing on the sidelines, I say go for it.

No decision is a decision

At the end of the day, failure to act is a decision. It is the decision to do nothing. Perhaps you need to ask yourself what the consequences will be for failing to act. What opportunities will you miss? What experiences are you forfeiting?

Document your reasoning

It can be easier to be make a big high-stakes decision, if you write down your reasoning. Answer the following questions:

• How do I feel about this?
• How will other people feel about my decision?
• What will be the impact of this decision?
• What will I need to do?
• How does this decision fit with my long-term plan?

Once you’ve answered these questions, consult your closest group of confidantes and ask for some feedback. Do they think you have taken all factors into account? Are you being honest with yourself? Have you under-estimated the challenges?

Everyone makes mistakes

Another expression I like is that in life and business, there is no failure, only feedback. That means, learn from your mistakes. Monitor the results of your decisions and learn lessons from each of them. Perhaps the project was a success, but only out of luck. Next time what can you do better to ensure success? If the project was a moderate success, list everything you could do to improve it next time. If you made a poor life decision, what emotions or lack of insight led to this? Again, assess the outcome. Remember that good and bad decisions only exist in hindsight. Finally, do not judge yourself too harshly, just learn from the experience and keep going.