The Martial Art of Decision Making

Every Business is built by decisions

Every Leader is made by decisions

Every Action is the result of a decision

Plan them well

Every entrepreneur is made by the decisions he or she makes. Every entrepreneur is faced with make or break decisions; life or death, success or failure, whether a CEO, a hair stylist or a hot dog vendor. It makes no difference.

Where is Decision Making Learned?

And yet, how many entrepreneurs (or people in general) are taught decision making? And by whom? Mom and Dad? A Boss? The School of Hard Knocks? The playground? High School or College?

Decision making is rarely taught in schools. So where is it learned? From the media? Television? Magazines? Perhaps a mentor? (But who taught them?)

Where is the instruction book?

In truth, decision making is most often “caught” instead of being “taught”. People pick up clues to decision making throughout their lives and piece together a system of decision making through trial and error as they go. Some get good at it, while others don’t.

Entrepreneurship, the art of building the business of your Life, is dependent upon these decisions. Doesn’t it make sense to master decision making as part of it?

So why don’t more entrepreneurs learn decision making?

Here’s why:

• Decision making isn’t taught very often.
• It’s also like breathing, no one notices that we do it all day every day, and few think about mastering their breathing, even though it has be shown throughout the ages that mastering breathing improves one’s health and mind.
• It takes practice
• It involves dealing with complexity
• Decisions have consequences. It’s easier to procrastinate
• Many people have no clue what their priorities are, and hence can’t make decisions.
• Decisions require information and knowledge. This is sometimes hard work.
• Most people make decisions in an emotive environment. Decision making is hard, and it is often associated with negative emotions

It’s worth a lot of money

One mistake can cost a lifetime of work or be worth millions. There is a presumption that if someone has enough information, they will make a right decision. Not so. In fact, more information can lead to overwhelm.

Think about the list of decisions each person must make every day; mindset, health, life, career, family, home, economy and fun. How many people are like deer in the headlights of an oncoming car – paralyzed by complexity?

Decision making is a mastery skill

Decision Making is like a martial art. It is a discipline, a philosophy and a practice. In order to master any martial art, to train the body and mind in motion in a highly dynamic environment, one must begin by acknowledging one’s status as a novice and then take the steps to become an expert.

The same applies to decision making. Decision making can be broken down into steps and then practiced and mastered.

With decision making mastery, what used to be big decisions seem small. Anguish and uncertainty can be replaced with confidence and clarity. Procrastination is transformed to action. Good decisions can be made faster. Bad decisions can be realized and responded to sooner.

Leadership Takes on New Meaning

Every Leader is made by their decisions. Inexperienced decision making makes for an inexperienced leader. Think about how confidence, momentum, relationships and planning are affected by inexperienced decision making. Decision making is fundamental to entrepreneurial leadership.

Mastering Decision Making

Mastering decision takes four requirements

1. Commitment
2. A teacher
3. A process
4. Practice

Decision Making is Very Teachable

We have taught decision making for decades, to individuals and their organizations. Once the process is learned it can be taught to others. Good decision making can positively affect an entire organization. It rubs off.

If you want to learn the Martial Art of Decision Making™ to become a better leader, to save money, to have more confidence and to achieve faster better results, then contact us. Make the right decision.