Making decisions, faster.

It’s easy to get caught in decision making paralysis. Sometimes we find ourselves at a fork in the road — weighing option A from B. Sometimes, the decisions we face lie miles before options A and B are even in sight. I’ve found myself here, sitting with these kind of looming decisions. The kind that make you think, “Well, where the Hell do I go from here?”

While speed isn’t always the best course of action, it is a course of action. If there’s anything that gives us a taste of confidence, gets us off the couch, and distracts us from our present difficulties (distractions? who me?) — a false sense of progress is just that.

I tease — partially.

I wouldn’t argue that fast decision making is the best decision making. I would argue that a decision made is better than no decision made. Even “wrong” decisions can propel us forward – giving wind to the sails and setting us in a forward direction from which we can begin to learn, grow, and course-correct.

Part of what slows down progress is trying to make the wrong decisions without the right information. Overwhelmingly large decisions often can be broken down into micro-decisions — which then offer more data points to help make the big decisions less daunting.

How can we breakdown the seemingly big things into bite-sized bits? Conquer them one at a time, and learn from them? Those little learnings can be applied to the bigger picture. These micro-decisions help build our gut instincts for where to go next.

When stuck on a big decision, consider what micro-decisions could be made in advance. Without moving forward learning is not going to happen; stasis in trying to chart the perfect, fail-proof plan doesn’t lead to growth. It’s okay to be wrong. Personally, I want to create an environment for myself and those around me that enables messing up and making mistakes— but most importantly — learning from them.

I love a good analogy, so let’s compare running to decision making. A cute (albeit, simplified) statement I love on running is this–

How do you run faster? You start run faster.

Well, how do you make decisions faster? By making them.

What does faster decision making look like, tactically? I like to think about decision making on three levels – reversibility, control and impact.

Reversibility

Is this forever? Few things are. Is this decision reversible? Some are. Am I stuck with the results of a less-than-optimal choice forever? If the decision can be undone, give yourself some space to mess up. Make it quickly and live (and learn) with the consequences. Making wrong decisions is not only a fact of life, but can lead to ultimately better decisions later on. Test something risky. Go out on a limb. If the decision can’t be reversed, give it a bit more space and thought.

Control

What is in my control? A good pre-cursor to ask is, “Can I make this decision?” If you can make the call, move forward. If this decision is outside of your control, inform and delegate. Don’t take the stress on yourself. I’ve seen time and energy spent towards decision making that was ultimately outside of someone’s control, leading to undue stress and emotional churn. In these scenarios, an appropriate path of action would be to provide an informed opinion to the decision-maker and pass on the delight of making said decision.

I’ve always not-so-secretly loved the rebellious teenage sentiment of,

“Ask for forgiveness, not permission”

If you look at innovators and thought-leaders of history— they did not look for group consensus and agreement. They took risks with bold statements and got reactions. Maybe not always the most conscientious approach, but for some, effective.

Impact

Does a negative outcome impact more than just me? Localized decisions, for example, “Should I run 4 miles or 6 miles today?” You are already getting cardiovascular benefit, an extra two miles is great! don’t have the same reach as higher-impact decisions like, “Should I start to live a more active lifestyle because my doctor is concerned about my health?” Possible impact on family, friends and a healthcare system who will have to care for you in your ill-health.

We can expend more time and energy when faced with a high-impact decision, and less when the impact of the decision is less.

Determining the level of effort to spend in decision making is a point of contention for me. Too much mental energy goes towards picking out the right clothing steamer (If you must know, hours… fwiw I bought this one.) and much less towards a decision to move cross-country. (Notable: I am loving Austin. It was a great decision – made on a good gut feeling and peace from God.) Leaning into System I and System II processing pays off, I believe.

I just finished Phil Knight’s book on the journey to build the company that now is Nike. Talk about some bad decision making that ultimately ended up leading to the creation of one of the most iconic brands in apparel and sports. Knight took risks and made choices that few people agreed with. What stood out to me was the consistent intention and vision for the business and improving the product. That clear north star guided all the decisions made along the way. To summarize my musings for the evening, and make a decision wrap this ramble up –

Trust your gut.

Or in the spirit of Nike,

Just do it.