I believe that far too many people fail to reach their full potential because of numerous, small decisions that are made in the moment without a full understanding of their future implications.
As you might imagine, an orchestra can not function without a conductor or, at least, without a set of guiding principles that govern and inform the myriad decisions made in the moment. I want to help you make symphonic decisions™—strategic choices that have a positive and cascading effect on your environment, ultimately making it easier for you to accomplish your goal.
My symphonic approach is based on strategic decision-making in the context of future opportunities. I use a set of decision-making principles that help people prioritize among competing challenges, which ultimately allow them to make better-leveraged decisions that accelerate their ability to capitalize on opportunity. While values typically remain stable, attitudes and behaviors often fluctuate over time. Decisions based on short-term concerns or pure self-interest often seem favorable today, but they may close doors for you tomorrow. My approach helps you make decisions that build upon themselves in ways that create a steady progression in a positive direction.
Symphonic Decision-Making Process
Consider employing what I call a symphonic decision-making process. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What information do I need to have in order to see this particular challenge from a 360-degree perspective?
- How has this challenge presented itself to others and how have they approached solving it?
- What principles can I apply today to prevent this particular challenge from surfacing again in the future?
- How does my decision today get me closer toward realizing tomorrow's objective(s)?
What information do I need to have in order to see this particular challenge from a 360-degree perspective? Answering this question forces you to view your situation holistically. This means placing yourself in the shoes of the people around you who are touched by or influenced by your decision. By identifying those who also have a "stake" in your decision you can begin to see the situation from a more comprehensive, or what I call, holistic vantage point. Do you know how your decision is likely to impact those around you? Do you know what chain of events your decision is likely to initiate for those around you? Do you know how those around you are likely to react once you make a decision? How will the type of decision you make influence their reactions? These are just a few of the holistic questions that help you see your decision in a 360-degree context.
How has this challenge presented itself to others and how have they approached solving it? This question is designed to help you avoid reinventing the wheel. Often, a challenge or a decision may seem new to us, but that does not make it new in the broader scheme of things. I often tell people "just because it's new to you doesn't make it new." Take a moment to consider others who may have faced the same or similar decision moment and think about what they eventually decided to do. Now, looking to history for guidance does not mean that you have to be wedded to history. Let it instruct and inform you. Then, be prepared to move on your own terms. If you can pick up some insight from how others have approached the same or similar decisions, why not take the time to do so.
What principles can I apply today to prevent this particular challenge from surfacing again in the future? This is, yet, another question that forces you to see beyond the current moment. Answering this question requires an ability to look beyond the constraints that you feel exist today; the constraints that may be forcing you to make a decision. In some cases, there is nothing that could have been done to avoid the decision. In other situations, however, there are a series of smaller choices and mini-moves that led to the current moment. Understanding the path that led you to the present can sometimes help to inform the decision you need to make. I often say that poor decisions usually bring about a host of bad choices. But, good decisions normally open you up to positive choices. If you are on a negative path that has led you to a series of poor choices, try to make decisions that get you back on the positive path and moving in the direction of positive choices.
How does my decision today get me closer toward realizing tomorrow's objective(s)? This is the final question I encourage you to ask yourself. It forces you to see both the future in the context of today. Often, we make decisions based on short-term desires. We want to avoid pain today, even if that means deferring it until tomorrow. We want to minimize loss today, even if that means suffering a bigger loss in the future.
What you want to do is to develop a personal and professional tool kit that enables you to prioritize among competing challenges, ultimately allowing you to make better-informed decisions that accelerate your ability to capitalize on opportunity.
Challenge yourself to see the cascading nature of your decisions. Every decision that we make today either gets us closer or pushes us farther away from our goals and objectives. Decisions ripple in a 360-degree direction and impact people all around us. Our decisions today are often the product of decisions we made yesterday. Every decision has a series of steps that lead up to it and those steps are often ignored and unexamined.
Try a more holistic, more thoughtful, more strategic...and more symphonic approach to decision making. You won't be disappointed!

