The most important trait of an effective executive according to Peter Drucker is to make decisions and effective ones at that. It is the prime reason an executive is hired, to lead and to make decisions. There have been many books written on different mathematical models of the decision making process (Six Sigma, Fishbone, Decision Tree etc) that can be used when confronted with major decisions at work or in personal life.
However I was reading another interesting article about a simple credo of decision making when constrained by time – which I thought was brilliant.
This particular technique resonates with Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling book ‘Blink’ where he discusses the power of thinking without thinking and the reason some people are brilliant decision makers and some are inept.
This technique is the simple but effective concept of ‘Hell Yeah’ or No. (You can read more here – the origin of this simple but effective credo)
If you don’t experience the WOW factor when making a choice, that it is a no brainer, an absolutely amazing choice – a Hell Yeah choice, then the answer needs to be a NO
You are either doing it with a full commitment and giving your best, or you are not doing it. Moreover, you are not saying ‘Yes’ simply to look good when you should be saying a firm ‘No’
According to Gladwell’s research in his book- Snap judgments are often more accurate than careful analysis of a situation, however one needs to also account for biases that don’t necessarily permeate the realm of conscious thoughts but nevertheless exists in the background.
I believe that people are effective because they say no…because they say ‘this isn’t for me. Practicing what Drucker calls “systematic abandonment”—stepping back, at regular intervals, to determine which of our present activities can be scaled back or eliminated is a trait of self leadership. Only then can we make way for something more fruitful.