Sometimes, CORRECT Decisions Are UNPOPULAR Decisions

Sometimes, CORRECT Decisions Are UNPOPULAR Decisions

Regardless of your calling or vocation, from the time you wake up, experts say that on average we have to make around 35,000 decisions PER DAY, whew!  Assuming people spend around seven hours per day sleeping [and thus, blissfully DECISION-free], that makes roughly 2,000 decisions per hour or one decision EVERY two seconds, whew!  So, can we agree that we have a recurring challenge at hand wherein sometimes, CORRECT Decisions Are UNPOPULAR Decisions📗📙📘

Early in my career, I [absolutely wrongly] thought that a great DECISION was one that attracted widespread approval.   When my expat bosses and even my colleagues smiled and nodded their collective heads, it reinforced [at least within myself] that I was 'spot on' in my DECISION-MAKING.  BUT here's the BUT.  As time wore on, I saw the fallacy of my approach.  Seeking broad consensus requires considerable compromise to incorporate each person's perspective.  The eventual result is a DECISION that is the lowest common denominator, a choice that everyone can live with  BUT no one is really happy with💦💦💦

Worse of worse, consensus-seeking is almost always excruciatingly slow, and the higher up a leader does climb, the less often they are afforded the luxury of time.  Through my years with global and MNC entities, I was often asked to make quick and critical decisions in response to sensitive events wherein the bottom line was NOT to miss out our contractual commitments to our 'encircled' super-valued clients.  After making such DECISIONS, I would do a personal 'post-mortem' and since many DECISIONS were made under pressure, I felt they were 'GOOD ENOUGH' if no better.  BUT to me, 'GOOD ENOUGH' is, honestly based on my stringent standards,  NOT GOOD ENOUGH❎❎❎

Key thing here is HOW to minimize conflict WHEN making unpopular DECISIONS.  WHEN the Covid-19 pandemic hit us all, the typical decisions of leaders have gone overboard, way beyond the conventional areas of expense budget and staff training.  Suddenly, thrown into our laps were DECISIONS about masks, vaccines and testing.  In short, the types of DECISIONS we are making have a broader impact😐😐😐

Our takeaway:  Times have changed way too fast, from complicated to extremely complicated cases.  WHETHER our decisions are for our family OR our organization, we are not shielded from grappling with DECISIONS that even touch on an employee's possible autoimmune disease.  HOW do we then support our family especially when a family member, like a parent at an advanced age, needs your attention?  WHEN do we make exceptions to the rules we agree upon?  Given these realities, it's NOT surprising that those affected by your DECISIONS are more vocal in expressing their opinions and pushing back than in the past.  So, sometimes, CORRECT DECISIONS can be UNPOPULAR DECISIONS❕❕❕

Sometimes, You're Better Off with NON-DECISIONS

Sometimes, You're Better Off with NON-DECISIONS

Sometimes, You're Better Off with NON-DECISIONS !   BUT before I get misconstrued, let me qualify that we're NOT encouraging INDECISIVENESS at all.  On the other hand, I can be a self-proclaimed advocate of DECISIVENESS because approximately 95% of the time in my past years, I'll humbly admit that I made FEARLESS DECISIONS not out of cockiness but as INFORMED DECISIONS💠💠💠

To align, let's agree on what NON-DECISIONS really as this involves suppressing challenges to the status quo and suppressing the addition of new issues to an agenda.  Issues then are excluded from an agenda because they are threatening in some direct way OR because of the competition for the limited space for one's agenda📗📙📘

So what's that gap between DECISIONS and NON-DECISIONS?  NON-DECISIONS avoid direct and sometimes even tacit confrontation.  NON-DECISION-MAKING focuses not on such direct use of power BUT on its indirect manifestations.  As such, power can be exercised in the absence of a direct and overt threat.  Psychologists also termed MOBILISATION of BIAS as the primary function of NON-DECISION-MAKING💵💴💷

So, when is a NON-DECISION good enough?  WHEN an imminent one [either FOR or AGAINST] will be worse off than a NON-DECISION.  Classic example is buying something now selling at a BIG DISCOUNT but that item is NOT a MUST-BUY [but a NICE TO BUY] for now but you simply want to take advantage of a hefty discount. BUT at that time, you were facing cash flow issues.  So, why not a NON-DECISION because that leaves you better off than reaching a DECISION❎❎❎

BTW, holding in abeyance DECISIONS does NOT mean you are foregoing with that impending decision BUT simply HOLDING IT IN ABEYANCE [until you can surmise the BEST TIMING to put your foot forward].  So, SOMETIMES, YOU'RE BETTER OFF WITH NON-DECISIONS❗❗❗