decisions, Decisions, DECISIONS!

Most of us dither now and again, but there comes a time when indecision: 
in PERSONAL SCENARIOS brings on (often unnecessary and/or self-inflicted) anxiety & heartache, 
in PROFESSIONAL SCENARIOS brings about its own delays which may result in panic all-round & also possibly (unnecessary) additional costs (not necessarily monetary, but user/customer confidence, etcetera ... which is often considered worse)

A few years ago I was working in IT as business analyst for the in-house data warehouse (the be-all and end-all destination of all systems in the organisation) and said related systems. The advice (from the senior project manager) which enabled myself and the techies to make crisis calls faster and with far greater confidence was this:

If there is a crisis OF ANY KIND then, at the time, all you can do is:

• List the knowns, 
• List the unknowns, 
• and then make the best decision you can. AND
• IF there are exceptions that follow said decision then you simply manage those exceptions.

The worst thing to have happen when most EVERYONE is panicking is inability to make a decision.

In most (personal) cases it may not really matter what you decide. There are almost always endless options that would probably serve you equally well, and all or any of of them is likely better than no decision at all.

This little recount of how my (professional) decision-making skills were enabled and empowered follows a rather funny incident today. (oh, ok ... perhaps not so funny to the folk involved) 
I was a little amused by reactions and, at times, lack of action today which turned a relatively simple 'crisis' into an over-extended FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON !!! 

The most interesting thing for me, back then, was when I noticed that I was applying this line of thinking to my personal life as well. It almost immediately changed the way I managed a crisis and, often, I ended up the one leading the charge. (not always beneficial on the romance-front, though ... not sure that most men like it or know what to do with a capable, level-headed woman)


.Tri