6 Tools For Making Critical Decisions

Decisions have made me millions and cost me millions.

Everything, beautiful or challenging, starts with our decisions.

The other day, I spoke with an entrepreneur experiencing the pain of a wrong decision. We’ve all experienced the fruit of our choices at some point.

Prosperity starts in the mind.

As such, I would like you to walk away with a better decision-making process today. I’m going to give you six to consider.

Here are tools to sharpen your decision-making skills. Weild them as you will.

1. Create a Decision-Making Lense with Four Compasses

We don’t make decisions solely based on who we are now. Our entire lives influence how we make decisions.

For example, maybe you’re motivated to prove someone wrong or want people to see your success. That’s your past.

That’s your “false” self. Not the TRUE you. Do you want to make decisions based on that person?

Your “true” self is who you are under the layers and behind the masks.

Intentional decision-making based on our true selves takes discovery, but it is the most aligned decision we’ll make.

To make aligned decisions, I want you to look through the frame of the following four elements:

1. Your identity
   
   This is who you truly are and who you want to be.
   
   For example, I am a father and want to be a great and present father to my kids, who is available emotionally and spiritually with patience and love.
   
   If I were presented with an “opportunity” that compromised that, the decision would already be made because it would be misaligned.
   

   Identity precedes everything. It’s the starting point of every decision we make.
   
   Behave according to your true identity.
   

2. Your vision
   
   What do you see? Where are you going?
   
   Create a clear picture and compare the decision you need to make. If you say yes, will it help or hinder your vision?
   
   In my life adjustments, I’m still unearthing this process. 😅 
   

3. Your values
   
   What do you value? This one got me good. I didn’t take the time to think about and write down what I valued. I paid the price for it.
   
   Why? My internal principles and boundaries needed to be aligned with what I was saying yes to. That’s a big problem (I’ll explain below)… i.e., cognitive dissonance.
   

4. Your mission
   
   Are you feeling lost or incongruent? What’s your mission? What’s your reason for being (as a person and organization)?
   
   If my mission is to be an endurance athlete, and I decide not to train. I’m incongruent.

   
   If my mission is to have the highest-rated customer service, yet I don’t invest in a great product and service team, I’m making a misaligned decision.

See how these four can start to frame and shape how and why we’re making decisions.

If you aren’t aware of these compasses, that’s okay. Take some time and start working on that.

Establishing these four “compasses” will benefit you:

1. You’ll make aligned decisions

If you’re clear on these, your decisions will be much easier. It’s predetermined.

In this case, you look at your options and then compare notes with your identity, vision, values, and mission.

2. You’ll eliminate decision fatigue

I’ve tossed and turned on decisions because I didn’t take the time to establish the four if I had known that personally and organizationally, I would have been at ease.

The more decisions we make, the more fatigue we experience. However, the more we’re pre-framed, the easier it is to make significant decisions from a place of energy (not fatigue).

Cognitive load is a massive consideration. Lessen the number of decisions you make. Frame your essential choices through the “four” lenses we’ve discussed.

I was running three eight-figure businesses and a seven-figure business with a team of 150 people moving like a freight train. Having these compasses would have helped a lot.

2. Create a Personal (or Organizational) Board

After establishing and communicating our compasses, let’s consider creating a personal board.

If you look at any business on the Fortune list, they have a (highly) paid board. The purpose?

1. Move the organization in the right direction

2. Eliminate catastrophic decision-making

Businesses under eight figures don’t usually have anything like this in place. Having some form of “board” will help you see things you can easily miss.

This could include a business mentor, financial expert, friend, spouse, parent, or colleague.

The first criterion for picking your board is that they have your best interest at heart. That means they will tell you what you don’t want to hear.

What should your board look like?

- People you trust.
- Incentivized properly.
- Differing experiences.
- Differing personalities.

Whenever you need perspective, you go to the board. You can also set this board for accountability (and “approval”).

I would break this down into two parts:

1. Helping you establish your four compasses (if you don’t have those)

2. Helping you make sure your decision-making and actions ARE IN ALIGNMENT

It’s all about keeping you and your business healthy and on course to accomplish the mission.

Proverbs says there’s wisdom in a multitude of counselors.

This is part of how I’m helping Founders now. If you want to know what that looks like, hit reply.

3. Determine Multi-Order Consequences

Every decision and then action taken has consequences. It might be positive or negative.

You can partly peer into the future when you step outside your biases and are honest about those consequences.

Example: I decide not to run a compliant product funnel

First order, make sales, and produce cash 🤑 
Second order, get FTC’s attention 😅 
Third order, get sued by FTC 😭 

If you allow yourself to think about all the possible consequences, this should help you. Our biases (and ego) often prevent us from doing this. This is why #1 and #2 are really valuable 👆️ 

4. Be Aware of Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially when relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

Cognitive dissonance leads to burnout, anxiety, depression, and a host of other non-savory emotions.

When you are aware of your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes and make decisions and, therefore, take action based on them, you will “burn less energy.”

When you operate in a state of cognitive dissonance, it’s like an internal tug-of-war.

5. Make Decisions From Peace, Not Fear

This is the spiritual aspect of decision-making that is very important.

It’s simple (maybe not easy) because it’s a muscle to develop. After considering the decision, putting it through the proper frames, and talking to the appropriate people…

Do you FEEL peace?

If yes, okay, let’s proceed. If not, then let’s examine why that is.

6. Don’t Go All In!

When making a critical decision, “beta” it before “going all in.”

For example, if I’m considering a partnership with someone, jumping in wouldn’t be wise if I don’t know the person.

Instead, I would run a three-month experience that was a project to see how that person showed up and what character (or lack thereof) they demonstrated.

Or if I were hiring an employee, I would give them a 90-day trial. If leasing an office, I would shoot for a 12-month lease term, not seven years.

If I’ve learned anything, nothing ever remains the same.

Flexibility within commitments is wisdom. Why? Circumstances change.

If everything in your life is “fixed,” you might find many things prone to breaking.

We are at over twelve hundred words, and I have much more to say about making important decisions, but I’ll leave it here for now.

Do you need help making better decisions? I’m here to help. Reply to this email and let me know how I can help.

In your corner,

Chris