Because we have experienced something before, we let that experience sway our thinking; letting us believe that it is always the case.

Researchers have found that for this cause and effect to be real, it needs to be statistically validated. How many of us have time for this? This is why we don’t have a better batting average with decision making.

To carry it one step further, we have all run successful businesses. Otherwise, we would not still be around. But because we were successful with this business in one economic environment with the organization, tactics, and strategies we developed, doesn’t mean we will be successful with these under other conditions.

Businesses that are successful in the long term are flexible and change with the times. They don’t wait for the business climate to get back to normal. They realize that the business situation will probably never go back to the way it was. They try and figure out what the new business climate will be; When to change? What to change? And what to change to?

Having a group of knowledgeable people listen to your ideas and question them can be powerful. When this group is other business leaders in your community it can even be better. You may have not thought things through thoroughly, had some bad information, or just didn’t know about a situation. By having a group listen and give you brutally honest feedback, you may come to a different conclusion that can save you a lot of time or money or even your business. Many decisions we make turnout OK because we make them right, but how much time and money did we spend putting out fires or making adjustments to make them right. It would have been definitely better to have made a better decision in the first place.

Making major business decisions in isolation is suicide!

Actions you can take now:

1. Think about some big decisions you have made in the last year.

2. Categorize them based on the outcome into poor, fair, good or great. Take into account whether they really turned out like you anticipated and how much more effort than planned you and your team had to expend to implement them.

3. Do a post mortem analysis on each one you rated less than great to determine why you didn’t make the best decision initially.

4. Decide what actions you will take to improve your batting average.