Let’s start the week off with a quick exercise. Now that you recognize that making a decision is not a simple one-two process, you’ll need to formulate a personal plan for handling the major decisions that will come across your desk from time to time. What would you do in the following situations?

- There was a major fire at one of your company’s international plants. The fire was caused by negligence on the part of a group of employees and there was at least one death along with several injuries. The fire damaged surrounding businesses and the cleanup will likely take at least 6 months. Your manager has asked you to write a press release expressing apologies, sympathy for the families of those who were lost, and well-wishes for those who are injured. He knows the press will begin to question you and has indicated you should tell them that cleanup will take no more than 3-4 weeks! You know this is something the public would like to hear, but that the information is incorrect. How will you handle the situation?

- The troubled economy is having a negative impact on your business and sales are down. You’re going to have to let one of your employees go in order to cut back on costs, but both of the employees in question are struggling to get by. You know that one has a medical condition and needs to pay for extra health care, but you know that the other is a single parent with a young child at home. Which one will you lay off?

These are difficult decisions and both will take bit of thought. Are they programmed or nonprogrammed? Are you making the decision based on your personal beliefs, or are you looking at the whole picture and making an ethical decision?

Good luck!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

We make hundreds of decisions each day. While making a decision may seem like a simple task, there are a number of key factors that you need to consider in order to make sure your final decision results in the outcome you desire. I’ve found, unfortunately, that the decision making process involves much more than a simple coin toss.

The decision making process is simple. You must:

- Recognize that a decision needs to be made.
- Identify all of the various alternatives available.
- Recognize and choose the best answer.
- Implement your decision.

Easier said than done, right?

The decisions you make do not always involve problems. Some decision making situations come as a result of opportunity, where you realize you have the chance to make a change and must determine the best way to take advantage. Perhaps you’ve won the lottery, for example, and must decide how to best invest your money.

I have found that there are two main types of decisions as well. A programmed decision is one that you make on a regular basis – what to have for breakfast, what supplier you’ll use when you need to purchase printer ink, etc. Others are nonprogrammed, meaning they do not come about every day and take more time and effort to consider. Deciding whether or not to fire an inadequate employee or determining how to split an unexpected bonus amongst your team members, for example.

Your strong decision making skills coupled with your now developing communication and delegation skills will enable you to constantly stay in control of your life, team, and workplace.

Do you have an example of a difficult decision and the unique process you had to go through in order to come to an end result? If so, please share. We’d love to hear about it.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”