Deciding when is harder than what and how
Deciding what to do is straightforward. So is figuring out how to do it. But knowing when to do it is really hard. Effective leaders develop a sense of when.
At LegUp Health, we know what we need to do to grow the business. We need to invest in digital and content marketing and we need to add additional salespeople. We also have confidence in our ability to figure out how to do this. But, when should we do these things? Now? Next month? Next year? And when will it be too late?
“When questions” are hard. If you decide to do something too early, you risk wasting precious resources. If you decide to do it too late, you risk losing the opportunity. Knowing when is a function of information and resources. Deciding when requires a combination of intellect, curiosity, and confidence.
Jeff Immelt was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE). During his time at GE, he led the organization through three major crises including 9/11, Enron, and the 2008 financial crisis. According to Jeff, effective leaders wait, but they don’t wait too long. They prioritize progress over perfection.
Good decision-making depends on reliable information, relevant expertise and wisdom, and the will to say yes or no. As a leader, you're not playing a game of perfection. You're playing a game of progress. And you don’t make progress unless you make decisions. Some people need too much information to make a decision, but effective leaders make do with imperfect information.
Avoiding decisions is worse than making imperfect decisions. When you avoid decisions, you neglect your leadership responsibility. Waiting too long to make a decision can stall progress, frustrate stakeholders, and risk losing opportunities. “Not now” is a decision. Sometimes it’s the right one and sometimes it’s the wrong one. Either way, it’s better than no decision.
When there’s something you know you must do at some point, how do you decide when to do it? It depends on the consequences of waiting. The most critical factor in decision-making is understanding the positive and negative consequences of a decision. If the consequences are trivial, optimize for speed. If they are major, optimize for quality.
Sometimes we decide “not now” due to uncertainty, but waiting maintains the status quo and delays change. An alternative to waiting is taking a smaller step to learn more before making a full commitment. You can take a step forward without going all-in. For example, instead of acquiring a company today, you might instead create a joint venture. You make progress instead of waiting for perfection.
Next time you’re struggling to decide when to do something, consider the following questions:
What are the major consequences—both positive and negative—of waiting?
If I wait, will I lose the option of doing it later?
What am I uncertain about?
Can I reduce uncertainty by waiting and by how much?
Do I have the resources to go now? If not, can I acquire them?
Is there a smaller step I can take now to make progress instead of waiting for perfection?
Have thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear from you! I'm @RickLindquist on Twitter.