If I Delay A Decision, I Just Made One

Learn To Make Decisions

Procrastination is a decision.  Did you know that?  If I delay making a decision because I need more time to think about it as I put the decision off, my decision becomes a "no" for now.  It is certainly not a "yes" decision.  If it is not a "yes" decision, it becomes a "no" decision...by default.  If I procrastinate making a decision, it means I made a "no" decision.  For now, it's a "no."  A decision you procrastinate means you are having a tough time saying "yes."  It means "no."  Just say "no" and get onto the next one.  If I delay making a decision, I just made one.  It means, "no, not for now."  The words have just not caught up with the thought.  The action is already in place.  I have not said "yes."  It is not a "yes."  The action is not, "let's do it."  The action is not "go for it."  The action is not "go ahead, do it."  The decision delay is not one of those choices.  It is a "no."

If I delay a decision, I just made one.  Everyone knows that a delayed decision is not a confirmation.  It is not a "yes" decision.  Only a "yes" decision is a "yes."  All others are a "no."  Fess up to it and get on to the next decision.  Quit stacking them up.  They bog down what you need to be spending your energy on doing.  Waiting to make a decision kills the great leadership a business owner needs to have happen.  Decide if it is a "yes" or not and move on.  When a decision comes into play treat it as if you only have one choice.  It is either a "yes" or it is a "no."  That is it.  You do not need to delay your answer.  A delayed decision should not be one of your choices.  Quit using it as a choice.  Decide and move on.  Treat your decisions more clearly.  They are either "yes" or "no", not "let me think about it."  "Let me think about it" is a "no."  Fess up.  Get on with it.  Devote your waste of energy on this one to something more valuable.  Say "no" and move on.

I see so many business owners become afraid of making "no" decisions.  They so want to be well liked that they delay making a "no" decision to remain popular with those who want the decision to be "yes."  The owners put off the decision to remain in favor of being liked.  Those kind of owners believe they have escaped the damage of a "no" decision.  Not true.  They have added anchors to the boat of leadership that has now drilled a small hole into the side of its stern.  Eventually, those added anchors will pull that boat down low enough to begin taking on water through all of the small holes they are drilling.  Their leadership will slowly begin to sink.

If I delay a decision.  I just made my decision.  It ain't "yes."

If I do not match my actions with my deeds, what do you think my followers will think?  If I do not match my words with my actions, what do you think my followers will think?  Owners, you are the leader of that business model.  Act like one.  Make a clear decision.  Be a clear leader.  Match up your actions with your deeds.  Then match your words to your definitive actions.  Quit tip toeing around and be a clear leader.

Picture this wooden boat.  It is made like a small row boat.  It was wooden slats in its total design.  It has one anchor to use to hold it still in a lake.  You can 'park' your boat in one place with this anchor.  You can pull up the anchor and row the boat all around the lake.  Now drill a hole into the side of the boat, just above the water line.  It will not start to sink.  The water is not high enough to leak into the hole on the side of the boat.  You are still safe.  You can safely row the boat all around the lake and never worry about taking on any water.  Drill another hole next to the one you just made.  No water coming in, you remain safe again.  You can drill as many holes into the side of your wooden boat and never worry about taking on any water to sink it.  Drill away to your hearts content.  The boat will still float.

What would happen to that process if you had to take on another anchor each time you drilled a small hole into the side of the boat?  Every time you drilled a hole into the side of the boat, you had to add another anchor.  How many holes could you drill before the added anchors would sink the boat low enough to allow the water to reach the holes on the side of the boat?  Sooner or later, the water would begin to leak into the boat and sink it deeper.  Before long, the water begins to add the weight to lower the boat.  Now the water begins to work against you.  Before the holes were drilled, the water was your friend.  It helped to float the boat.  Now it has become your enemy and it is determined to sink your boat.  You are faced with a whole new set of problems.  You will need to work harder to get the water to quit trying to sink your boat.  You will need to get rid of some of the water.  You will need to spend a bunch of new energy trying to bale out the unwanted water.  As the holes sink lower, more holes will let more water come in.  Lots of holes, lots of water coming in trying to sink your boat.  You will need to bale out water faster and faster.  Pretty soon all of your energy is spent trying to save your boat.  Too many holes, too many anchors and too many leaks.  You are no longer rowing a boat around the lake for pleasure.  This is exactly what leaders do to their business models when they delay making decisions.  Same thing.

Make A Definitive Decision

I watch a new leader get hired.  They are fresh with what they decide to do.  They are clear as to where they want to be.  They make swift decisions with clarity and poise.  They operate with respect and honor.  They begin to notice some good results and puff up as they expand their creative horizons.  They take on some new growth and new ideas to begin adding new victories into the work they are already doing.  They fill up their time with more growth, more decisions, and more options.  They eventually find themselves operating in so many new ways that the territory becomes clouded with unknowns.  Clarity is no longer the dominate rule.  Confusions sets in.  Quick and clear decisions stop happening.  The leadership gets nicked here and there and the success ratios diminish.  Some supporters climb up onto the fence sitting position and the leader gets more confused about what side they are on.  The leader starts to delay some of his decisions by procrastinating on them until he sees what side of the fence his supporters are leaning to favor.  His leadership is now tarnished deeper.  His little boat that was so easy to row around the lake is now getting a small hole drilled into the side of its stern.  He is still safe since the hole is well above the water line of the lake.  But he must place another small anchor into his boat.  It lowers the boat just a little bit.  However, he is still safe.  The water line is still below the little hole.

As his growth finds more challenges, his decisions become less clear.  He begins to procrastinate on more of his necessary decisions.  He slows them down thinking he needs more time to decide what to do.  He begins looking around to see the wind of approval.  He checks out all of those people sitting on the top of the fence to see what side they will fall on when he makes his decisions.  He wants their support.  He wants their approval.  He forgets about his true leadership and tarnishes it with popularity concepts.  His decisions become more delayed.  More holes drilled into the side of his boat.  More anchors placed onto the floor of his wooden boat.  He gets more scared as he notices the level of the water getting very close to the holes he has been drilling.  He is now more focused on the problems of potential sinking rather than the pleasures he once enjoyed of boating on the lake.  His leadership has become a real chore to manage.  He is at full risk of losing it all.  His pleasure ride around the lake is now converting into an emergency recovery project.  His business model is at risk of losing a lot of money.  He has discovered he is in trouble.  His followers are not helping him to win anymore.  His followers do not want to bale out water for a living.  He decides to bale some of it out all on his own.  He is no longer rowing the boat he once enjoyed rowing.

Sound familiar?  This is exactly how a good leader destroys a good operation.  They begin to delay making good decisions.  They start to procrastinate on the simple decisions, first.  Then they begin to put off  the more difficult ones until their followers notice the poor leadership they are performing.  Once this happens, the followers have a knack for sensing this process and notice how the leader begins searching for more approval.  The flood gates open up to the unwritten rules of popularity.  The need to be accepted takes over and the popularity game speeds up.  The followers work it well.  That is what they do best.  The leader does not 'see' this with the same kind of clarity the followers 'see.'  As a result, more delayed decisions from the top.  More holes drilled into the side of the boat and more anchors added to weight the boat down.  Water is running everywhere.  Some panic sets in.  The leader speeds up the bale out efforts and the regular business operations are placed on more hold.  Decisions get further delayed.  More holes, more anchors, more water baled and greater confusion.  The boat begins to lose ground.  The leader is no longer leading.

If I delay a decision, I just made one.  I drilled a small hole.  With that hole, I must add some weight into the bottom of my little boat.  It is not a problem today.  So it does not hurt me to delay this decision today.  I delay it because I do not see why it can grow to hurt me later.  It will only hurt me when I do a whole bunch of delayed decisions.  After a bunch of them, I will find myself baling a lot of water out of the bottom of my little boat.  I will also discover then that I have no time left to operate my real leadership duties.  I will also notice that my once supportive water, my staff, has now become my enemy.  Some of you leaders know exactly what I am describing.  Unfortunately, you are too busy baling out water to save your boat from sinking.  The water is winning right now.  It is demanding too much of your time to reverse what you have done.  Your leadership is completely lost.  Your management style has entered the survival mode.  The tail is now waging the dog.  You are now losing the battle to survive.  You no longer like what you are doing.  Your ability to make definitive decisions is all but washed away.  You delay decision after decision.  You drill hole after hole.  You add weight upon weight.  You fight water on top of water.  It is a vicious cycle.  You find no help.

If I delay a decision, I just made one.  I made the decision to start drilling holes into the side of my little boat.

Until next time...