Decisions
posted in General |DECISIONS
Some decisions are easy to make – others are not. And many people who have had experience in leading an organization understand how painfully difficult decision making can be. Consider for a moment what might go thru the mind of George Bush as his day begins. What should we do about North Korea, Iran, Iraq, AIDS, gasoline prices, the health of Social Security, medical expenses, education, military funding, maintaining State Secrets, political races, court nominees, press conferences, International guests, vetoes …… and the list goes on and on. Amd when the President does make a decision, it often can be “no-win” since the opposing proponents might not be satisfied. But with all of the unpleasantness that may result, the need for a decision does not go away. Some critics will be unhappy if he makes a decision, and others will be unhappy if he does not.
It is an interesting process, and the road to a decision often runs thru consultants, academicians, experts of one kind or another, staffers paid for recommendations, friends, advisors, gurus, family members, top level aides, etc., etc., etc. The most meaningful comment emanating from this process came from President Harry Truman in the days following World War II. When facing tough decisions, Harry said, “The buck stops here”. How true.
I had the pleasure of working for a guy who understood this process very well. When crunch time came for decision making, he dispensed with advice and recommendations with a very concise way to cut to the core of an issue. He said succinctly (to his staff of advisors and experts) : “I am not interested in your advice, recommendations or suggestions. I have only one question for you — “Specifically, what would you do if you were in my shoes?” If you ever need to find a way to separate the men from the boys, here is a perfect way to do it. Just don't stand in front of the water fountain or the men's room. People can get trampled that way.