Tag: decision making

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Decide to Be Resolute in 2017

Business leaders are faced with a myriad of opportunities and choices every day. It is estimated that on average the C-suite will get 150-300 emails per day vying for some decision-making attention about an opportunity. Each opportunity requires some logical reasoning and prioritization.

From the outside world, we are flooded daily with proposals and suggestions from eager vendors and sales people to help us do more and be better at everything. Internally, we are presented opportunities to evaluate new ideas, review solutions and provide recommendations to tackle the complexities within the business.

Ignoring it all is not the solution. The emails and calls keep coming. There is no doubt that both outside and inside opportunities need assessing. Equally, all perspectives are important. Today, the speed of innovation and change require leaders to be in constant evaluation of ideas and solutions or you will be left behind!

Therein lies the challenge. Constant assessing is time. Nothing is simple and time is our most valuable resource. Each opportunity is often laced with all kinds of variables related to resources, timelines, spending requirements and business needs. It can be overwhelming and stagnating. Yet, the business requires ongoing opportunity assessment to progress.

Insert decision-maker! The solution is to make time to make decisions.

What is critical in the evaluation of any opportunity is that ultimately a decision is made. Great business leaders decide. Do it, revise it, throw it away – just decide. Endless evaluation kills momentum.

The best leaders eliminate the clutter, clear the noise, create the pathway and direct us forward. They lead the way for others to go do. Implement and execute. Without decision-making, we can all drown in opportunity and accomplish nothing.

Anyone in sales will be able to tell stories about their encounters with people and organizations that couldn’t make a decision. Two weeks grows to six month and two-year sales cycles. It’s an immediate recipe for stress and heartburn, even failure! As well, we may have experienced in a our personal lives. OK, we likely have all experienced it with a friend or family member. Have you have been shopping with someone that can’t make a decision. Exhausting!

It happens in companies too. Lack of decisions lead to stagnation and chaos, at worst. Right or wrong, the failure to decide is the greatest failure of all. It leaves everyone in flux and wanting direction. We go nowhere, we don’t progress.

In 2017, imagine what we can accomplish by being resolute. Making clear decisions every day. It is not about the goal or resolution, as we like to call it this time of year. It is about deciding how to get to the goal. Businesses grow from ingesting new approaches and ways to get things done. Take it in, set the target, decide and then go! Resolute.

Be determined and purposeful. The best leaders in the world are resolved, adamant and unwavering. It doesn’t mean they are “right” all the time, they just decide. They empower the organization to fail and learn. They simply give context to doing. Resolute.

Respect in business is earned. It is earned by those that are steadfast, unfaltering, and persistent. 2017 is time to commit to being tenacious and strong-willed, no matter the objective or goal. Decide and do. Resolute.

It’s not the resolution that will make 2017 a great new year, it is being resolute. Decide now. Be resolute.

Jamie

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Patience is a Vice and Virtue in Business

iStock_000017171991XSmallPatience is virtuous when it empowers you to use good judgement. Patience is a vice when it is used as an excuse or method of procrastination.

Patience has a role in every aspect of business. Patience can be a virtue when leaders need time to evaluate and research the benefits and risks associated with critical business decisions. Patience can also be a vice when it hinders progress or is used by leaders to stall or delay difficult decisions.

In business, leaders gain respect when patience is used as a sensible guide. It can help define practical goals and set realistic expectations on performance. Patience is valuable in strategic planning, negotiations and critical thinking exercises that have significant impact on the future of a business. Patience also defines a business reality and sets a tone of perseverance.

Leaders can immediately lose respect if they show little or no patience. Rushing to judgement can sabotage activities or blur facts. Charging forward on key decisions regardless of the cost or potential dangers, can result in missed opportunities and less-than desirable outcomes.  Leaders that employ too much patience may be deemed as lacking confidence in their own decisions or lacking confidence in others.  It can spark insecurities and even instability in the business. No patience creates a perception of erratic and unstable leadership.

Patience needs balance. When patience is part of the decision-making process, be certain that there is substantiated purpose. For example, use patience in planning when you need to acquire experience, research facts, test an outcome or survey others for input. Patience used to delay a decision because of a lack of experience or knowledge can create a false roadblock. Set a timeline. Using patience to gather feedback is a good use of the virtue.  Patience becomes a vice when it drives you to continually seek consensus on all decisions.

Patience as a virtue gives you capacity to endure waiting. Patience as a vice is not setting a deadline, allowing difficult decisions or unexpected outcomes to linger and potentially harm the business. Patience, used correctly, is part of your business ethics. It helps in governance.

Patience gives you the fortitude to make decisions. The right amount of patience enables leaders to use levelheadedness and detach from emotions in the decision and use logic and facts. Patience is a vice when it is used so frequently that it creates an emotional detachment to any decisions or prevents you from personally engaging or taking responsibility for your decisions and commitments.

Patience in business needs to be modulated. It is a guide, a compass. It is never absolute. There are times you have to make immediate decisions. There are many times you need to trust your gut, your instincts, you inner voice and just go. True leaders have the courage to accept associated risk with making a immediate decisions, as well as knowing when it is important to deploy patience at the right time to get the best results.

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” ― Aristotle

Jamie Glass, President and CMO at Artful Thinkers @jglass8

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Manage Your Influencers for Optimal Results

Business TargetKey influencers play a critical role in every business. Decision makers are guarded and guided by inside and outside advisors and gatekeepers. How you manage your trusted advisors can help or harm your business.

Influencers know they have the power to change or compel action. It is the business leaders responsibility to validate and control the effect of influencers. Those who sit closest to authority and are granted permission to persuade, have a direct impact on your success. Do you know who is currently sitting at your table of influence?

In order to responsibly manage your influencers, take time to identify those that are in your inner circle and those effecting your judgement. Inside your business look at department heads, executives and even top revenue generators whose opinions impact your future. Who are your squeaky wheels? Are they helping you make better decisions for your business or slowing down how you operate?  Influencers can be carriers of good and bad advice, they may be motivated by selfishness. It is up to you to vet, challenge and manage your influencers for optimal results.

One way of evaluating an influencer is to ask them what they believe are your highest priorities. Are they up-to-date on your current business plans and growth strategies?  Do they know the profile of your most profitable customers?  If not, it is the perfect opportunity to align your thinking. Define and clarify what is most important to you and your business.  Let them know how they can help you.

To get the best results from your influencers, provide regular updates on business goals, initiatives, challenges and opportunities.  Acting as gatekeepers, key influencers can open doors to new ideas, solution providers and even make introductions to customers. They also have the ability to close doors.  As the final decision maker, you are ultimately responsible for those that make it through the “gate”.  Challenge those that have the authority inside your business to say no.  Know who they turned away and why.

Update your outside advisors quarterly about key initiatives and strategic objectives. These influencers, such as accountants, legal counsel, wealth managers, business consultants and top vendors are connected and often sources for essential referrals. They act as a conduit for information and potential services that can help you achieve your goals.  If your influencers know your interests, they can better serve you.

Know that influencers get things done. They effect change. They make things happen. You need to know who they are and leverage them for maximum impact to your business. Lead influencers to your expected outcomes. Manage them for the best results.

Jamie Glass, Outsourced CMO and President of Artful Thinkers, a strategic sales and marketing consulting company and Sales & Marketing Services Managing Director at CKS Advisors.