Why Quick Decision Makers Are More Successful
Andy Andrews is famous for his saying, “Successful people
make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their
decisions slowly and change their minds quickly.”
Is there any real science behind this saying? Yes, and what follows is a brief explanation.
What happens when we go with our first reaction
If you’ve ever taken one of those personality assessments
like a Myers-Briggs, Predictive Index, or some other DiSC-type assessment, then
you’re familiar with the instructions to go with your first reaction to each
question or statement. The reason these
assessments ask you to do that is because they know, from a psychological
standpoint, your first response most closely aligns to your true feelings and
thoughts.
Neuroscience has shown that we feel first and then create an
intellectual response. Whether you like
it, or not, your feelings trump your intellect every time. The reason for this is that your unconscious
mind is at least 1,000,000 times more powerful than your conscious mind. Your unconscious controls all of your automatic
functions; heart rate, walking, talking, playing sports, and so much more. Think about it, when was the last time you intellectually
calculated how fast a ball was coming at you and precisely where to place your
hand to catch it?
The same is true of business decisions. That’s why it’s been stated over and over that
success in business is 80% psychology and 20% skill. Your unconscious mind knows what your intent
is and how any given decision will impact that intent. This can get into Quantum Physics, as far as
how intent affects your decisions, but I won’t go there, for now. Suffice it to say that both sciences,
Neuroscience and Quantum Physics, align with this concept.
Paralysis of Analysis
Yep, you can continue to gather more and more data as you’re
making decisions only to begin second-guessing yourself and your decisions. This is where your conscious mind takes
control over your unconscious mind and all the fears, doubts, and worries climb
to the top. Remember, your conscious
mind is much weaker and much more limited than your unconscious. You may begin comparing spreadsheets,
documents, advice that’s been given, etc., and find that you have the feeling
of being overwhelmed with information.
So much so that you may decide not to decide.
That’s where the second part of Mr. Andrews statement comes
into play, ” Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds
quickly.” You either decide not to
decide, or decide, but change your decision several times for fear of making
the “wrong” decision. Either
path leads to decisions that are of poor quality and potential failure.
Go with Your Gut
Other contributing factors are:
You have 100 billion neurons in your brain
You have 40,000 neurons in your heart
You have 100,000 neurons in your stomach. Scientists many times refer to the stomach as
the “Second Brain”.
This means that you should pay attention to the feelings you
get from your heart and stomach when making decisions. Ignoring them is like ignoring your most
trusted confidante.
So, the next time you delay a decision to gather more
information, really consider if it’s needed, or if it’s simply delay tactic. Making no decision is making a decision.
Dr. Edward Lewellen is an expert in creating methodologies for people to learn to use their mind; their beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors, and put them back in control of their lives and become top-producers. He is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of:
Life Mastery: The Fully Functional Life
