10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making a Big Decision

Before you move forward and take that final action, make sure you pause, spend some time considering these questions, and document your answers so you can be sure to make the best decision possible.

As you get ready to make a decision and take action, there are some critical questions you need to ask yourself before you move forward. Take the time to think this stuff through. As you get ready to move forward, ask yourself:

1. How big is this decision?
2. Can I break that big decision into smaller ones to reduce the risk that I face?
3. How irrevocable is this decision?
4. Can you roll it back if you’re wrong, or is it you have to get it right on the first shot? You should know the difference.
5. What’s the cost of being wrong, and what’s the value of being right? And is that an appropriate trade-off that you’re making?
6. How long do you have to make the decision? Many times, we impose a deadline on ourselves which isn’t real. What’s the real deadline for making this call and moving forward? What’s the cost of waiting, and what’s the value of acting now? For example, I had a decision I had to make, and if we acted sooner, we would save a lot more money. And if we waited, those savings were going to be gone. Understanding that trade-off of time is critical.
7. What are my personal biases that might be affecting this decision? Perhaps in the past, you made a decision and it didn’t go well, and this decision feels a lot like that last decision that didn’t go so well. You should know that you have a bias that might be affecting your decision to move forward.
8. How do I mitigate the biases that I might have to make clearer decisions? Can you bring somebody in as a sounding board to help push you on those biases?
9. Who do I need to involve in the decision, and how do I need to involve them?
10. And lastly, who needs to know I made a decision, and how should I inform them? Some decisions, it’s fine to send out an email. Other decisions, that would be highly inappropriate. And you need to think through the communication plan for how you’re going to get the message out there.

So before you move forward and take that final action, make sure you pause, spend some time considering these questions, and document your answers so you can be sure to make the best decision possible.

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