Making Quick Decisions – The Fastest Phone Call I’ve Ever Had…
What You’re About To Learn: If you want to lead, you better make fast decisions and then stick to them. Don’t “waffle” and change your mind...
====================================
It was such a powerful and fast call that I was in AWE after I put the phone down. I came stumbling out of my office and looked at the team and said “wow, no wonder this guy is so successful…”
I had a conference call today with a new acquaintance, but a very powerful name in our industry. I had set aside at least 30 minutes to do the call, going off of the convention I’m used to. However, within the first 10 seconds of the call, I knew I was talking to someone completely different and that this call was going to be unique.
A) No small talk – RIGHT down to business.
B) Talked in a VERY fast pace – It felt like I was trying to catch up to someone who is walking very fast.
C) Point 1, Point 2, Point 3…boom boom boom – That’s how the call went. No jokes, no small talk – get to the point and move on.
D) Yes/No decisions right there…
Just so you understand me, I am not insinuating that you should make “rushed” decisions, this person obviously knew exactly what decision they were making. Just because he made it fast did not mean he made a hasty decision.
What I really respected was that he didn’t “waffle” or “buy time” – he respected both his and my time to be straight and up-front.
There were 3 topics we discussed, two he was extremely interested in and immediately told me what the next steps were. One of them he was not and just as quickly said “no, I won’t be interested in that at this time.”
Others that I present this opportunity usually say “Ooo…sure, pass me the information and let me look at it, etc..etc…” – Not this gentleman, he knew right from the start. Even though he turned me down on the third point, I truly respected him for it and was impressed.
Learn To Think On Your Feet – Don’t Be Afraid To Say No
If you want to be successful, you have to learn to make fast decisions and then stick to them. The biggest curse a fighter can have is the “waffling mentality” where you go back and forth on one decision.
“I” still do this but am getting better about it day by day. Luckily I have many people around me that are firm decision makers, so when I start to waffle, they know how to get me back on track.
After my call today, I’m even more motivated to focus on making fast decisions.
Usually we’ll “waffle” or “buy time” when we know we’ll eventually reject something or say “no.” By nature, most of us don’t want to disappoint, so saying no is hard. That’s why we find ways to get around it. What we really end up doing is just wasting everyone’s time.
Instead of thinking of a “no” as rejecting someone, why not think of it “respecting their time enough not to pull their leg.”
Practice Making Hard Deadlines On Decisions And Sticking To Them
Here is an exercise to help you improve your decision making skills. For just one day, every decision you need to make from choosing your clothes to making decisions at work – assign a deadline to each decision.
I don’t mean you necessarily have to make important work decisions THAT day – but assign a deadline.
Commit to yourself that by THIS time on THIS day, you will make a final decision on something no matter what. AND, most importantly, you will NOT change your mind (of course there is always room for urgent exceptions, but only strict emergencies).
Not only do you need to learn to make fast decisions, but if you want to be a leader and be looked upon as a success you need to backup your decisions, stick to them and show confidence in them.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Tags: making quick decisions
