Are time and information the allies of smart decisions or enemies?
It depends.
Balancing time and information requires keen judgment which, when successful, is a thing of beauty. That’s right it is beautiful.
The longer you wait to make a decision, the more information you will have but . . .
– In competitive environments, competitors receive the same info you do – wait too long and your competitors will make decisions for you.
– Too much info can mask crucial data and/or lead to “paralysis by analysis”
– Your “gut feel” (quiet voice inside you) is masked by the abundance of information and the noise it brings. (hat tip: Malcolm Gladwell’s book: Blink)
Gut feel? Making decisions quickly with little external information is necessary sometimes – in life or death situation, in extremely competitive and high-paced environments, and sports (“You can’t think and hit at the same time” – Yogi Berra) But of course, we know the dangers of making rash decisions.
In the spectrum from maximum information to no information, the most costly errors occur on the maximum information side. Many organizations are so risk averse that decisions are evaluated at a snail’s pace (a snail with a double hernia, a cane, and a torn hamstring).
This pace may be called “prudent” decision making or thorough “due diligence” which is often code for:
No one, with the authority to do so, is willing make a decision and accept the responsibility for the outcome.
We are beginning to accept a definition of success as “not making a mistake” but not “achieving.”
The cost of this definition is not trivial and impacts more than the individual being evaluated.
Talented people’s time and effort are wasted on unnecessarily long evaluations designed to delay a decision. . which reduces their quality of life . . . which impacts their attitude at home . . . which impacts their children’s development . . . which impacts our nation’s future!
