On Decision Making

Learn to be decisive. Don't get stuck gathering information and analyzing and weighing pros and cons. Decide.

While you might think that postponing the decision gives you flexibility and time to consider every little thing, you could actually be wasting time and letting opportunities pass you by.

We all want to make the right decisions. But to always get it right is improbable. We can't have all the information. We can't have all the time in the world to analyze them. And we can't possibly foresee every outcome. Even if we have all the data we need, we can't always be rational.

Waiting for everything to align will cost you time, resources, and opportunities.

The new job you've been considering will go to the next candidate. The project that you've been planning in your head for years might no longer be relevant when you're ready, or someone else probably had the same idea and executed it perfectly—and you'd kick yourself in the butt for not doing it sooner.

And when it comes to projects and business, failing to decide on the next course of action will lead to ambiguity and lack of direction. You might stay right where you are, without progress, burning cash on purposeless work.

Failing to decide is a decision.

You decide not to pursue any of your options. You decide to let opportunities pass. You choose ambiguity. You choose the status quo.

Failure to decide is a decision, so treat it like one. Be aware of the consequences of choosing that over your other options.