In a recent interview in the November
3rd edition of the Sunday New York Times, David Cote, the Chairman and CEO of
Honeywell, talked about how making good decisions is critical to the success of
a business. A decisive business leader
“wants to make decisions often and quickly (i.e. ‘give me what you’ve got and
I’ll make a decision’.) And the lower
you are in an organization, you can get away with a lot of that and you’ll be
applauded for it.”
“But with bigger decisions, you can
make bigger mistakes, so you really have to think about the kind of decision
you’re making. Is this a decision where
if I’m wrong, there can be significant ramifications?”
“What I’ve taught myself to do is to
tell everybody that this is a preliminary decision and we will go through it
again in a day or two, because it’s so important to get it right.”
“If I’m very decisive and I surround
myself with people who just want me to make decisions, then we’ll go off the
cliff at 130 miles an hour, because at some point I’ll be wrong. What I need are people who want to come to
their own conclusions and are willing to think independently, and can argue
with me in the right way so I can (keep the process) objective as opposed to
emotional.”
“There’s this phrase I use a lot when
I teach leadership classes at Honeywell:
‘Your job as a leader is to be right at the end of the meeting, not at
the beginning of the meeting.’ It’s your
job to flush out all the facts, all the opinions, and at the end make a good
decision, because you’ll get measured on whether you make a good decision, and
not whether it was your idea from the beginning.”
In running our businesses, we spend a
lot of time making decisions. And each
decision we make has a huge impact on our success, so it pays to make every
decision as good as we can. David Cote
is suggesting that we can make better decisions when we’re armed with all the
facts (i.e. you’re never as well informed at the beginning of a meeting as you
are at the end.) That’s something you
should consider the next time someone pressures you to make a quick decision.
I hope you’re celebrating the Holiday
Season with family and friends and not setting new world-records for eating the
most food at a family get-together.
Sometimes you want to say out-loud:
“Wait a minute, this isn’t an eating contest, is it?”
Here’s my favorite Charles Schultz
story that really puts “what’s important in our lives” into perspective:
“Every time I see these questions make
the rounds via email around the Internet, I’m reminded of what truly is
important in life. Don’t answer the
questions. Just read it to the end, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in
the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy
winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the
Miss America Pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the
Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy
Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of
World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remembers the
headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best
in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are
forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on
this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your
journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped
you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught
you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made
you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy
spending time with.
Easier?
Give yourself credit for remembering
the people who really made a difference in your life. They didn’t have the most credentials, the
most money or the most awards. They just
cared about you. Whose life have you
made a difference in recently?”
