Making decisions can be a big problem. For ten years now, I have often spent Saturday nights in the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon City – working with the prisoners there. I have also met with some of these prisoners once they have been released. Many of them are in and out of jail for years – even their entire lives. It’s unusual for prisoners to learn to function well in the “outside” world. Obviously, there are many reasons for this, but there is one very basic reason that is a problem not just for the prisoners. It’s a problem common to many of us - the inability to make decisions.

For the prisoners, the problem of decision-making is magnified by the fact they have spent time where their decisions are made for them. They are told what to wear, when to get up, when and what to eat, when to go to bed, etc., etc. For a prisoner in jail, there are few decisions to be made. Then, if they get out of jail, they are often overwhelmed by all the decisions that need to be made. I took one of the prisoners to Sweet Tomatoes buffet shortly after he was released. He just stood there, staring at all the food – unable to decide what to have. It had been years since he had a choice of what he could eat. Many are actually more comfortable in jail, partly because they don’t have to make any decisions. But, it’s not just the prisoners who have problems making decisions. All of us function well or poorly based upon how we make decisions. And there are many who live lives of emptiness because they fail to accept the responsibility for making decisions.

Running a business means making a lot of decisions – hiring, firing, scheduling, purchasing, etc.

How well you make decisions is one of the most important factors that determines success or failure. Many business owners end up giving up their own businesses and going to work for someone else primarily to escape the load of decisions that they have. This is sad, just as sad as the prisoners who end up back in jail because they don’t want to make decisions.

On the other hand, those who have learned to make decisions in their businesses are often more effective in other areas of life because they have learned to make decisions.

There are two extremes that will cause us to fail miserably when it comes to making decisions: One extreme is passivity, the other extreme is impulsiveness. Passivity is simply failing to consciously make decisions and, instead, allowing circumstances or others to make our decisions for us. Impulsiveness is making decisions without thinking things through – without counting the cost or considering the consequences. If we are passive or impulsive about the small decisions, we are then likely to become passive or impulsive about the big decisions.

So, how then should we make decisions? Following are some ideas that have been helpful to me and I hope will be an encouragement to you – to make decisions more effectively.

ASK YOURSELF THREE THINGS WHEN YOU HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE:

1.    What are the OPTIONS?

2.    What is the BEST option?

3.    What should be DONE (and when)?

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? Define them – including doing nothing. Suppose an idea comes to you or someone is asking you to do something. Stop and ask yourself; what are the options? Usually the options are more and broader - than simply to do something or not to do it. What different ways could it be done? Are there alternatives? Is there someone else who should be doing this with (or instead of) you?

What is the BEST option? It’s not enough to determine what’s good or right. We can spend our lives doing good things, the right things – and miss what’s best. The good is the enemy of the best! And determining what’s best is not only a matter of looking at the action involved, but the results that may come, and the cost involved. The question should be what’s BEST. Sometimes this will be clear and obvious. Other times it will be more difficult. Sometimes you are forced to make a decision before you feel you are ready. Other times you can wait while you continue to count the cost and think through your options. 

What should be DONE (and when)? Having defined options and determined what’s best, the time comes to make a commitment. This is where you declare what you will do, knowing full well that you have an obligation to DO what you DECLARE. Make a commitment to a course of action. How things turn out is not just a matter of making the “right” decision, it's a matter of making a decision and making it turn out right by the integrity with which you follow through! The effectiveness of your decisions will be determined not by what you intend to do, but by how and why you finish what you do, once you have decided to do it.