How do you handle making decisions during times of uncertainty?

Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle making decisions during times of uncertainty?

• I wait until the uncertainty is resolved, then make my decision 0.80%
• I proceed cautiously and gather as much info as I can before deciding 40.96%
• I make a decision based on the best info I have, then adjust and react later 58.24%

A caution on caution. While the majority of respondents favor an act/learn/adjust approach to decision making, a substantive portion of you like to be cautious and gather as much info as you can before making a decision. Typically people do this with an eye toward reducing or eliminating risk. The more information you gather, the less risk you have, right? Not really. While that works in theory, you must realize that new sources of uncertainty and risk are being added to the system every day so your efforts to reduce it through information gathering are meaningless beyond a certain point. You can never eliminate all uncertainty. Consider trying the act/learn/adjust approach. Make smaller decisions faster and adjust them as the world plays itself out. Because the cost of inaction can be just as high as acting without proper information.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.