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In my BusinessWeek column last Friday, I wrote an article about how companies like Starbucks and Panera Bread chose to go against the grain when the you-know-what hit the fan in 2008.  Instead of jumping on the “trying to reinvent ourselves” bandwagon that has become oh so chic in recent years, they decided instead to reassert themselves. That decision is tougher than it may appear for corporate leaders, as well as common folks like you and me.

When life starts moving faster than we’re comfortable with or sliding down a path we’re not especially fond of, like Madonna, the tendency is to try to be something “shiny and new.”  The grass in the neighbor’s yard never seems greener than it does when your own yard is brown and overrun with dandelions.

The leaders at Starbucks, Panera and UPS all realized two things:  First, becoming something shiny and new was highly unlikely.  They simply had too much momentum to throw on the brakes and radically change directions.  Second, they realized that they had built something pretty powerful already, and a rebirth would be a step backward.   They each had something unique–a Decision Pulse–that had guided their decisions successfully before, and could do so again.   But they had slowly drifted away from it over the years, and only when the economy (and by extension, their revenue) headed south did they decide to reassert their Decision Pulse.

As individuals, you and me also have a Decision Pulse that tells us in which direction our decisions should move us.  But we

The 8 Universal Personal Directions

often forget about it when things start to spiral out of control.  We start looking around to see what everyone else is doing to be so darn chipper all the time.  We start wondering if the wild life of our bachelor/bachelorette friend might be just what we need to be happy.  Or perhaps it’s the stability of a secure, good-paying job and a nice car like our sister has that will restore our satisfaction with life.

Unfortunately, what works for them might not work for you.  There is only a 1 in 8 chance that their Decision Pulse is the same as yours.  Before you go chasing a friend/co-worker/sibling down their rabbit-hole, try getting clear about your Decision Pulse first.  Look at the diagram over to the right to get a sense for what matters most to you.   You can also take the online Decision Pulse assessment for free at www.DecisionPulse.com.

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