You know your
craft and you’ve prepared yourself for the product purchasing, vendor choices,
pricing structure, and other paperwork needs for your business concerns, but
regardless of your business operations the BIGGEST
headache you are going to have is when it comes to making decisions! As the business owner you’re going to be
faced with all types of decisions. What
can help you get through this necessary aspect of your business?
Let’s look at six
areas that can help you in making necessary decisions and having positive
results.
1. Know
the Facts. Do your research. Make an effort to look at all the data
available so you can illuminate what obviously doesn’t apply to your business
needs and keep only the relevant information that you can use. In contrast to the often thought adage: “If
it’s on the internet it must be true!”
You are going to need to analyze any found data and determine if it is
true or not. Only by having the most
current and relevant data can you make an acceptable conclusion. You must also use a bit of common sense and restraint. In today’s electronic age you can collect an
enormous amount of data in a very short time period. However fascinating that
data might be, is it really needed in your decision making process? And don’t “cut off’ a valuable source of
information concerning your business by not considering the opinions of your
employees.
2. Be Results Focused. What is your ultimate goal to be based on the
decision you need to make? You will need
to look at both the short-term and long-term effects. You can’t focus on merely ONE aspect of your
decision. As an example: You may be considering how to improve the
bottom line of your financial statement.
However, you must also consider the relationship with your vendors and
your employees. To merely achieve one
aspect of your business needs by making a decision that will cripple your
operations in other areas will prove to be a very unwise decision. Or to consider only your shot-term goals
without any evaluation of long-term effects may once again prove to be
ultimately disastrous.
3. Consider the Viewpoint of Others. You may have worked long and hard building
your business. Today you may be very
proud of what you have accomplished.
However, never forget, your business should not be run as a
dictatorship, but you must always consider the viewpoint of others. Think of your business colleagues, your
managers, and your vendors (even to some extent your competitors) as a vast
source of needed reference material. You
would probably have to pay a fortune for the knowledge and understanding these
individuals can contribute in the operations of your business. And many times this knowledge can be available
to you for the cost of lunch!
4. Stop --- Breathe! Don’t feel that every decision has to be made
“in that moment” or the world will come to an end. There will be plenty of situations which will
require a “snap” decision, but not all.
Especially is this true with the really important (and expensive)
ones. Let yourself relax. Take a deep breath. Listen to some music. Maybe even do a little exercise. You’ll find that once you’ve relaxed you’ll
gain a new, fresh perspective to the situation and your thinking process will
flow more smoothly.
5. Never Give Up. Once you have examined all the available
applicable data, discussed the matter with others, allowed your thinking proves
to ponder the goals you desire to achieve, and then make your decision
accordingly. Don’t procrastinate. Once this is done: Stay the course. Don’t let anything derail you and your
business from achieving the ultimate goal that you have decided upon. As you “never give up” don’t be so hardheaded
that you can’t realize that the course you laid out is not achieving its
purpose. Adjustments may become
necessary to alter the route of your plan while maintaining the idea of
obtaining the proposed results.
6. Learn from Mistakes. Let’s face it: As much as we’d like to think that all our
decisions will be the correct ones, we are going to make mistakes from time to
time. The real tragedy is not learning
from those mistakes and making corrections where necessary.
There are many
different decision making tools available.
You will need to research them and use the ones that work for you. Always remember that the decisions you make
for your business can be a good foundation from which to move your operations
forward. But those decisions are never
solidified in concrete so much that they cannot be changed Your decisions should be more like a flowing
sea upon which your business “ship” navigates its way to safe harbors.
PS
Scheduler 123 is
an excel-based production scheduling program for practically any industry. Check it out.
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"Don't move until you know which way to go ---
then don't hesitate to move!"
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