When you’re running a business operation, you need to be able to think on your feet. Each day is characterised by a series of fast-moving decisions, and business leaders quickly become used to having to both retain a view of the bigger issue and deep-dive into the particulars in order to steer their business right.
This process, ongoing as it is, can be stressful. In fact, it’s probably one of the hardest things to get your head around when you’re getting your company up and running. Of course you want to make sure that you make the best decision with the information available to you at the time.
And if you really want to get ahead of the game, it’s crucial to be able to make choices which are both informed and accurate, usually in a very small amount of time. So, how do you make sure that you’re on track to make the right decisions?
Get Your Facts Straight
Nobody can make the right choice without having the complete picture. Any gaps in your knowledge become weak points which can quickly mislead you and derail your progress. So the first step is to make sure that you have all the knowledge available to you in front of you when you need to choose.
Say you’re making a purchasing decision, such as populating your fleet. You will need to know not only details of things such as estimated yearly mileage, but also information on the best performing models, their fuel economy, cost of replacement parts and the best price.
You’ll also want to choose from the best dealer group – should you buy from California Group or Evans Halshaw? It helps to be able to speak to people who will be affected by your decision and take a quick poll of opinions and the reasons behind them.
This may uncover aspects to the decision that you hadn’t initially considered, so it can be a very valuable process. Remember to be aware of potential biases in your own or others’ opinions and just go on the empirical facts.
Focus On The End Result
‘Start with the end in mind’ is a valuable aphorism. Think about the best possible outcome, but also pay attention to worst-case scenarios and the middling outcome as well. Keep in mind the goal you’ve set for your company and any personal objectives – being able to set smart goals is a really important part of planning.
The direction of your company should always be aligned with this vision and values, so that you know it’s going to contribute to moving you towards where you want to be.
Even with the most well put-together judgements, mistakes will sometimes happen. Occasionally you will go for the wrong thing, choose the wrong supplier or somehow miss the mark. All of this is fine – so long as you use the opportunity to learn something.
Mistakes can be the most valuable part of innovation, and turbulent times can be the making of a business but only if you revisit the choice with hindsight, and look at what the decision was made.
For example, if you’ve written a marketing strategy and yet your latest campaign is very underwhelming in terms of performance, carefully evaluate any weak spots and look at why it’s not working. If you can take something away from the process, it’s never a waste of time.
