We recently had a candidate on campus who framed decision making in an interesting light. He said that the hard part about making a decision isn’t making the decision; it is looking ahead at the chessboard to understand the implications of the second and third move. Understanding the consequences of making the decision — or of not making the decision — are what constitute the hard part of the process.
During the course of my day, I am asked to make many decisions. For the most part, I am equipped with enough information to have the context required to make a choice. But in those cases where the decision isn’t clear or when I don’t really understand the nuances of the options, I am not shy about saying that I need more time to “ponder”.
The world is moving fast and we all need to act quickly. But decision making, like chess, is a game that requires thought. Don’t act so fast that you fail to take time to consider the impact of your choices.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Thanks for the post, Beth. It reminded me of a clip from The West Wing…posted the clip on my blog.