Good-Looking Decisions

by John Carroll

A colleague recently faced some tough decisions. As a skilled facilitator and trainer and experienced, proven sales professional, she was struggling with the direction of her career. In her work with clients and colleagues, she had offers from organizations for full- and part-time positions that would, in some cases, complement what she was already doing.

As she struggled through the “I don’t know what to do” stage, she was able to put her thoughts on paper to decide exactly what she wants in her life, not just in her job. At that point, she began to look at the individual opportunities for the advantages and disadvantages of each. She concluded that she’d be sure and the decision would be clear when the answer comes flashing across a huge billboard along the highway.

She summarized all of this for me in an e-mail message and asked for any additional insights I could provide. I responded that she might simply create a spreadsheet of the things she wants in life (in rows down the left column) and the career choices in column headings across the top. Then all she had to do was fill in the blocks and get a clear visual of the whole picture. She asked about situations where she didn’t know the answer to a certain life objective relating to a specific career opportunity and therefore couldn’t complete the corresponding blank. That was simple, too. Just list a question mark until you can get information from the appropriate source or do some soul-searching to find the answer.

Here’s how it might look:

Career choices chart
Life objectives:	Opportunity A	Opportunity B	Opportunity C	Opportunity D
Low out-of-town travel	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Time with mate	Yes	No	No	Yes
Ability to use skills and talents	Yes, often	Yes, somewhat	Yes	Yes
Get out of debt and be financially free	Yes, out of debt	Yes, somewhat	Yes	No
Enjoy my home and yard	Yes	Yes, somewhat	No	No
Be spiritually in tune	Yes	No, too much travel	Yes	Yes
To know people in the community	Yes	No, same as above	Yes	Yes
To make a positive impact on others	Yes	Yes, somewhat	Yes	Yes
To be passionate about what I do	Yes	?	Yes	?

Once she completed the spreadsheet, she responded quickly that one opportunity was definitely out and another looked much better than she had previously thought. In other words, her ability to see them all side by side, relative to the criteria that really mattered to her, painted a much clearer picture than she had in her mind

What’s the lesson here? I believe there are several:

1. Think on paper – When you face a complex or tough decision, start defining it and all its ingredients on paper. By doing so, you recall elements important to reaching a decision which may not occur to you in simply thinking about it. Spell it out and you may be amazed at the clarity that flows from your pen to paper or your fingertips through the keyboard to the computer monitor.

2. Prioritize your decision-making criteria – All needs and desires are not created equal. To help in this process, decide which of your criteria are musts versus wants. By doing so, you clearly understand which of these criteria are non-negotiable and you give proper weight to the results of your analysis.

3. Be honest with yourself – Sometimes we play favorites in our own decision- making. By that I mean that we will tend to blind ourselves to advantages of certain conclusions and disadvantages of others. We all face our own individual filters and biases when it comes to reaching a decision. Think on paper and be brutally honest with yourself in creating the document, thereby allowing yourself to see the complete picture.

4. Check the result and give it some time – There’s no need to “nuke” all your decisions by putting them in the microwave oven of decision-making for conclusions in 30 seconds or less. Indeed, by thinking on paper and looking at the results, there are some decisions that will come leaping out, giving you the ability to leap frog over your current concern and get on with the business of life. In some of life’s tougher decisions, however, the recipe often calls for simmering over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Even in these cases, your decision-making will likely be more effective (making the right choice) and efficient (making the decisions in a reasonable period of time without undue stress and tension) than it would simply rolling around in your mind.

5. Get the picture – Make a visual, whether a spreadsheet or other vehicle, to help clarify your issues and employ more of your senses. This simple step alone can often provide the focus and determining factors to help you reach the best alternative from your choices and give you the confidence to move on to other opportunities.

In business, leaders and others are often evaluated by how adept they are at making decisions. The next time you face a challenging decision, business or personal, take these steps to help insure that you’re heading in the right direction.

John Carroll is President/CEO of Unlimited Performance, a Mt. Pleasant, SC, firm focused on organizational and individual performance improvement. He is the author of Sales Illustrated 68 Sales Lessons from Everyday Life. Contact him at 1-877-755-8844 toll-free, email at jcarroll@uperform.com, fax at (843) 881-6746.