Which is better?
- 6 out of 10 decisions
- 2 out of 3 decisions
I used to think that the best leaders were those who had the higher percentage of good decisions each day. Naturally, 67% quality decision-making should be better than 60%, right? So I would have picked the manager who was careful in making decisions and made fewer mistakes.
But the older I get, the more I appreciate simply making more good decisions—period. In this case, the 6 out of 10 option is better. Even though it’s only 60% accuracy, that leader made three times more good decisions than the one who made just two good decisions. In a quick phrase: the leader who makes more decisions, faster, is usually better than the leader who is meticulous and gets marginally better average results.
Notice that in both examples, the success rate is above 50%. A wise person once told me that his goal as a leader was simply to make sure that he got at least half of his decisions right. That’s a helpful litmus test: move as fast as you can, make decisions as quickly as you can—but when you start making more bad decisions than good ones, it’s time to slow down.
This has become a general rule for me. Though I have no formal way of tracking this, it helps me gauge whether my week has been effective or not.
At the end of each day—or at the end of the week—I reflect on my decisions. It’s a simple exercise: How many major decisions did I make? How many are still hanging out there, waiting for me to act? How many did I “pull the trigger” on? That’s my first test.
If I didn’t make that many decisions—or only got to a few—then I really have to ask myself what I was doing with my time. If you are not making decisions constantly and frequently, you are not really leading. Quit pretending to be a leader and go back to following. Leaders make decisions. Followers follow.
The second thing I reflect on is the quality of my decisions. How many of them worked out? Do I regret any of them? What were the consequences? Was I too hasty? All of these questions feed into my mindset of aiming to get most of my decisions right—not all of them, but most.
And I accept that some decisions will inevitably be wrong or unfortunate. As long as I’m not sinking the boat, so to speak, I can live with that.
At the end of the day, more good decisions are always better than a few perfectly analyzed ones.
You move forward by moving. Not by waiting to be perfect.
