What questions do you ask yourself when you find that you’re not getting the results or seeing the outcomes that you expect?
Did I try my best?
Am I capable of doing this?
Are the conditions for success ideal?
How about this: “Am I small-minded, or are my decisions just small-minded?”
After more than a decade working with leaders from all walks of life and from around the world, we have come to see the importance of decisions. Decisions separate good results from great results.
We often talk about approaching decisions symphonically. Here’s what we mean.
A symphonic approach is based on strategic decision making in the context of future opportunities. I know that’s a mouthful. Consider these basic questions.
- Are you able to prioritize among competing challenges?
- Do you know which decision is most likely going to accelerate your ability to capitalize on the opportunity in front of you?
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 tomorrow. A symphonic approach helps you make decisions that build upon themselves in ways that create a steady progression in a positive direction. That’s a fancy way of saying that your decisions ought to make it easier for you to realize your goals. If they’re not, you may want to ask yourself some tough questions.
A decision today should make it easier to achieve the objectives you have set for yourself tomorrow.
Far too many organizations and leaders expend tremendous amounts of energy, but, unfortunately, that energy does not translate into measurable impact on the communities they serve. There are far too many low-performing, low-impact organizations out there.
Here are some things to consider:
- Grab a pen and some paper.
- Draw a line right down the middle of the paper.
- On the left side write down your goals and objectives, in order of importance.
- On the right side write down every decision you made today…no matter how small it seems.
- Now, take a moment and review each decision in the context of your goals and objectives.
- If the decision helps you reach one of your goals, then put a plus sign (+) next to it. But, if a decision did nothing to help you reach one of your goals, or if it actually made it harder to reach a goal, place a minus sign (-) next to it.
- When you’re done, count the number of times you see a plus sign and count the number of times you see a minus sign.
- Now, add the two numbers together. (For example, +6 plus -8 = -2) The number that you end up with symbolizes the impact that your decisions are having on your ability to reach your goals. A positive number means you are marching forward. A negative number means you are sliding backwards.
What's your number today?
