The following was written for our colleagues at Clapper Publishing Company but could relate to just about anyone in any role in life.
A husband once boasted that he made all of the big decisions in his family. His teenage son quipped, “Yeah, like how to solve the national debt, and what to do about the Bears coaching staff. Mom decides the little things like what house we live in and do I get to go the movie on Saturday.”
So it goes here. It’s the little decisions that really count: What will we delete from the text or layout of a feature article we are partial to? Will we absorb the extra film cost for an advertiser who sent the wrong material but is hard to deal with? Shall we sort today’s mail the same way we did yesterday’s even though there is only one fourth as much?
The hundreds of decisions you make every day are what make our company function. Your decision making is important … yet as good as you are now, you can improve.
Start by accepting that you are a decision maker. Become aware of the choices you make. Notice how often you make good decisions. (If most weren’t good, you wouldn’t survive the trip to work!)
Next, take steps to improve. Every night while you’re doing some regular task like brushing your teeth, review the decisions you made that day.
Think first of the good ones. Congratulate yourself on your ability as a decision maker.
Then think of an occasion when you were not at your best. Decide what you hope you’ll do the next time you encounter similar circumstances.
Finally, smile, knowing that tomorrow you’ll be a better decision maker.