16 August 2023
No company can function without making decisions. OK, you may have control over your own decisions, but what if your boss has a yes-no aversion or is known for the way he confuses priorities, and what if your colleagues on the steering committee go round in circles instead of finally getting their act together?
By decision-making performance, we mean the ability to make the best available decisions as quickly as possible and, if necessary, to go for quick and unrefined quality instead of unattainable perfection. So, what should you do if your boss is putting off the decision to optimize sales while more and more customers are deserting in disgust? Here are five smart tips for better decision-making performance:
Options instead of yes or no
No one likes the binary narrow-gauge track of yes-no decisions. They’re tedious and have an “eat or die” feel to them. Bosses also want to choose and have a say. That’s why three proposed solutions are better than one that gets either a thumbs up or a thumbs down. If your boss doesn’t like the only suggestion you have prepared for him, he will send you to the sin bin. If you come along with three suggestions, firstly, it will show that you have thought more thoroughly and deeply, and secondly, you will win over a boss who will more enthusiastically get your reorganization on track.
Let the boss decide how it’s to be done
We’ve heard it all before: “No can do. We haven’t got the people, the budget or the time, and the IT is playing up like the proverbial diva!” Fortunately, you personally are not the type to carry on like this, because nothing gets done by bemoaning your troubles. Nevertheless, you have to pull one out of the bag for the head of sales – preferably by yesterday. Remember: “There’s no such thing as no can do!” Focus on the destination instead of complaining about the potholes on the way there. Want to get ten percent more out of a certain sales area? Let the boss determine the “how” instead of responding with objections: “We can do it – if we cut two people and reduce the incentives or cancel the discounts for B customers, even if a few of them go over to our competitors.”
No lazy compromises!
Some things can neither be postponed nor compromised on. The more people have a say, the less courageous the course of action will be. It’s your decision! Only get people on board who share your convictions and who can support you in your new marketing concept. Avoid being forced into unanimity at all costs.
Image: AdobeStock ronstik
A simple majority or a two-thirds majority, and that’s it: otherwise, there will still be a discussion going on when your competitor has stolen a march on you with his sales campaign.
How to win with the opposite
“It’s all well and good with your digitalization thing, but we don’t have the know-how or the resources. Besides, everything is running OK at the moment...” Unfortunately, you can’t grab your division manager by the lapels and shake him until he gives in. Instead, play a dialectical game with him. Does he think the new app is too difficult and too expensive? Then go along with his objection instead of confronting him. Slowly start to refute the negative arguments until he realizes that your way is better. In the worst-case scenario, you yourself might realize that it’s actually not working. But even then, you will be a winner, because you have avoided spending money on a damp squib.
Aim to gain knowledge
“Close it down! The site is a bottomless pit!” “Nonsense. You’re totally wrong there!” Which of the two disputants is right? Probably neither. There is hardly ever a clear right or wrong in management. Find the constructive truth between the two polar opposites. Under what circumstances might closure be worthwhile, and under what circumstances would it make more sense to keep the site open? Perhaps the problems have arisen because of the logistics or because the sales staff in the region are overworked? It is only when you are in possession of the facts that you can make a well-founded decision.
Making the best decisions has a lot to do with skillful communication and psychological empathy. You also need to be able to assert yourself so that your efforts are not thwarted by procrastinators, argumentative types and scaredy-cats. It is your decision. Be clever in the way you fight to see it implemented.
Matthias Kolbusa
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