Business Decisions and Management

Thriving businesses are dynamic and fast-paced. Important decisions regarding a business’s future don’t wait for someone to come to a conclusion at his own pace. If one waits too long, the decision will be made for the decision-maker through circumstance.

The business intelligence company Business Objects conducted a survey not too long ago. Their findings were startling. In it, more than 90% of corporate executives admitted that they felt ill-equipped to make crucial decisions about their businesses. In addition, they found that the same executives had even less faith in the decisions of management employees beneath them.

Business decision-makers, especially managers, need to be armed with the skill to effortlessly respond to suddenly shifting market trends and business needs. Judgment calls don’t need to be “snap”, but they need to be fast. No amount of schooling and preparation can really substitute for a manager with the ability to quickly call the best shot out of a laundry list of alternatives. But if you’re a manager without years of experience, how can you improve your decision-making skills? I’ve compiled a short list of tips that may help you.

Recognize the value of cold hard facts. Numbers talk. Give ‘em the chance, and they’ll scream at the top of their lungs. In the survey discussed above, the overwhelming majority of corporate executives cited numbers and data as the definitive influencer when making decisions. But it would be a mistake to trust numbers whole-heartedly. Numbers are only a piece of the commercial puzzle and should be interpreted relative to all the other information you have about your business.

Invest in your own research. Sometimes, cold hard facts aren’t that at all. It’s always a good idea to confirm the validity and reliability of information that is to be used as the basis for a decision.

Research, reports, statistics and white papers can translate into a workable assumptions and educated guesses, but only if they’re true reflections of the nature of your business. Think of your decision as a house that’s about to be built from scratch. Take the time to secure its foundation.

Take stock of others’ opinions. Having the final word doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go at decision-making alone. Businesses hire consultancy firms for a reason. The input of other employees can also prove to be invaluable. Use all available resources to make an informed decision- including people.

Imagine scenarios for the results of each choice. Logic is trait that all great decision-makers have. Keen reasoning abilities can only help a manager when determining which way he wants his business to go. When figuring out what road is the best, consider the end result of each decision and determine which is the most beneficial.

Know when to take risks. “Risk” has become a dirty word, especially when speaking about informed decision-making. But there are practical applications for risk that can help turn a profit in your business. Take, for example, Netflix’s celebrated risk of trusting users instead of computer algorithms to predict film recommendations for its members. While computer programs analyzing the results of current member habits would seem to have been the most logical way to predict future membership activity, Netflix realized that real people are the best indicators of real people’s activities. Netflix now boasts an ever-growing list of satisfied customers and an impressive profit margin to boot.

But let’s not forget that many of a decision-maker’s correct choices boil down to gut instinct. Great managers listen to their intuition because of previous experience, but also because they’ve subconsciously internalized their company’s raw and refined data. Much like the Netflix example, you’re capable of making a better decision about your business than the most complicated of computer programs. So, trust yourself. The sooner you can do that, the sooner you can become the most suitable person to make decisions on behalf of your business and its employees.