The 5 Keys to Making Smarter Decisions Faster

One of the things that we, as leaders, need to do is be able to make smarter decisions faster.

When we have a decision to make, we usually spend too much time thinking. How much time in your day do you surrender to thinking and not actually make a decision?

How much time could you save every day if you could make smarter decisions, and make them more rapidly?

That’s what we discussed with Josh Feinberg on this episode of the Lead to Grow podcast.

Josh is the President and CEO at Everlasting Capital, a nationwide business financing company.

On the show, Josh shared his five keys to making smarter decisions faster:

#1: Stick to Your Mission

The first key to making smarter decisions faster is sticking to your mission.

Your mission is your end goal, what you’re ultimately trying to accomplish.

When you really know your mission, and when you keep it in the forefront of your mind at all times, you can quickly assess whether or not a particular decision will help you accomplish that goal.

#2: Know Your Data

A big part of sticking to your mission is knowing your data.

Let’s look at an example:

Suppose your end goal is to sell your company. Also, suppose you run a business like Everlasting Capital that offers equipment financing and leasing options. Imagine an employee comes says, “Hey, a lot of people are needing cash to purchase trucks right now. I think we should send out 50,000 emails to people in the trucking industry.” What do you do?

You could take three or four days to consider the decision. But, if you know your data, you know what your open and conversion rates are. You know how many deals you can actually fund, and you definitely know your end goal. This knowledge allows you to make a quick decision based on whether it’s aligned with your mission, and whether it’s actually feasible.

#3: Control Only What You Can

We often try to control people and places — which are things we can’t actually control.

We want our customers to act in a certain way. We want our employees to learn faster. We expect people to act in accordance with our best interest, and we try to ensure these outcomes by exerting our control.

But when we try to control these things, it doesn’t work out the way we want. We get frustrated, angry, and we start resenting.

Expectations are a premeditated resentment.

Instead of trying to control things you can’t control, develop self-awareness. Learn to recognize when you’re trying to control something that you can’t control. Then, adjust your behavior to control something you can affect.

You may not be able to control your employees or your customers, but you can control how many calls you make a day. You can control how many emails you send, and you can control how many videos you produce.

So, control what you can, and let the rest go.

#4: Embrace Uncertainty

A lot of us are conservative and don’t like taking risks.

But embrace those situations where you’re not 100% confident you’re making the right choice.

When you embrace uncertainty, there are two things that can happen: You’re either going to make a million dollars, or you’re going to learn something that will help you make a million dollars.

People will often get upset because they made a decision they weren’t sure about, and then it didn’t work out. So they stop making any future decisions if they’re the least bit uncertain.

The problem isn’t that you made a quick decision, or that you didn’t think it through. The truth is: you probably have a track record of decisions that did work out, sprinkled with a few that did not.

So, don’t be afraid to make decisions, even when you’re unsure.

It might not work out, but if it doesn’t, you’ll probably learn something valuable that will help you get the next one right.

#5: If You Already Know What You Want to Do, Then Do It

Studies have shown that you’ve already made a decision within five seconds of thinking about a certain situation.

Anything after that is just wasting time.

If you think you don’t know what to do, pull out a quarter. Assign heads and tails. Then flip it.

All of a sudden, when that coin is in the air, you know which side you’re hoping it lands on. You know what decision to make. So, go with that one.

If you know your mission, you know your data, and you’re not trying to control something you can’t affect, then don’t be afraid of the uncertainty.

If Someone Had Lunch With You, What’s the Key Thing You’d Want Them to Walk Away With?

We ask this question of every guest. Here’s Josh’s answer:

“Anything and everything that you think is possible … is.”

This blog post is from a podcast interview with Josh Feinberg of Everlasting Capital.

Click here to hear this full episode. If you don’t use iTunes, you can also find the full list of episodes by clicking this link.