It’s true that you can’t force someone else to decide even with the very best of Tony Robbins’ hypnotic tricks.  But I think we can all vastly improve our response rates from other people by applying Pascal’s Principle. Enlightenment-era mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal once wrote to a friend “Forgive me for the long letter, I did not have time to make it shorter.”  In other words “I was unwilling or unable to decide what points are most important about the message ...  [ Read More ]]]> So much of what we do today depends on other people’s decisions.  Even if you’re not in a management position, it’s still virtually impossible to get work done without somebody else weighing in.   So, what do you do when that other person won’t decide?

It’s true that you can’t force someone else to decide even with the very best of Tony Robbins’ hypnotic tricks.  But I think we can all vastly improve our response rates from other people by applying Pascal’s Principle. Enlightenment-era mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal once wrote to a friend “Forgive me for the long letter, I did not have time to make it shorter.”  In other words “I was unwilling or unable to decide what points are most important about the message I’m sending, so I’ve vomited out everything I’m thinking and now you have to sort through it yourself to decipher the critical information.”

When people are faced with too much information or too many choices, they are likely to avoid the decision altogether.  More pleading doesn’t help.  That only makes you come across as a pest.  Neither will more facts or more information.   What is needed is more clarity and simplicity.

What is the one decision you absolutely, positively need from this person?  Then in as few words as possible (5 sentences or less is ideal), ask them for it.

While mistakes shouldn’t go unnoticed, it’s awfully dangerous to the long term health of your team or company to drop the ax on any person who makes a mistake that goes public.  Mistakes–even if they have nasty consequences–are invaluable learning tools.  The Turkish sage Nasreddin once said “good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.”  Paradoxically, if we don’t allow people to make bad decisions, then they will never learn to make ...  [ Read More ]]]> Hiring and firing decisions are some of the toughest decisions managers of people ever have to make. That’s why the editors at Bloomberg BusinessWeek asked me to comment on the firing of the ESPN headline writer who made the (unintended?) racial slur about New York Knick’s newest star, Jeremy Lin.

While mistakes shouldn’t go unnoticed, it’s awfully dangerous to the long term health of your team or company to drop the ax on any person who makes a mistake that goes public.  Mistakes–even if they have nasty consequences–are invaluable learning tools.  The Turkish sage Nasreddin once said “good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.”  Paradoxically, if we don’t allow people to make bad decisions, then they will never learn to make good decisions.

As a manager how do you handle mistakes?

Over the past 100 years, managers with a high core self-evaluation (the critical trait concoction for natural born Deciders) won an average of 5 more games per season than their not-so-blessed peers.  The study which appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology a couple of years ago is In addition, they also attracted more fans to their games–winning both on the scoreboard and in the ticket office.

Like a gift from above, the movie version of Moneyball came down to help bring my ...  [ Read More ]]]> One of my favorite studies from the past couple of years–yes, I am nerdy enough to have a running list of favorite studies– is one led by Christian Resick at Drexel University on the impact of a Decider mentality on MLB General Manager’s success.

Over the past 100 years, managers with a high core self-evaluation (the critical trait concoction for natural born Deciders) won an average of 5 more games per season than their not-so-blessed peers.  The study which appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology a couple of years ago is In addition, they also attracted more fans to their games–winning both on the scoreboard and in the ticket office.

Like a gift from above, the movie version of Moneyball came down to help bring my point to life.  Great decision-makers use a combination of evidence-based management and decisiveness. They have to know where the information stops and leadership begins.  My most recent Psychology Today post goes into more detail.

But this morning I was reminded why I do this.  Never mind the science and empirical evidence backing up the theory.  I do it because it works.

Mary, the owner of a Corporate Wellness Consulting firm who attended a speech I gave for the ...  [ Read More ]]]> So, I always do this really corny thing in my speeches where I have people in the audience say to the person next to them “I am a Decider.”  Inevitably, the room breaks out into a this-feels-silly-but-I’ll-be-a-good-sport brand of laughter.   Admittedly, it reeks of a Stuart Smalley SNL skit. Fortunately, I’ve already built some credibility by this time of the talk so I don’t come across as a total flake.

But this morning I was reminded why I do this.  Never mind the science and empirical evidence backing up the theory.  I do it because it works.

Mary, the owner of a Corporate Wellness Consulting firm who attended a speech I gave for the Colorado Human Resources Association emailed me to say she landed a Fortune 500 client after my talk.  “I kept thinking about your talk on Deciders,” she said.  “I just kept thinking if I make a decision, I am moving my business forward. I didn’t realize how important it was for me to hear that talk.”

I wish Mary said this because of my unquestionable awesomeness, but it has much more to do with her than me. Mary is smart. She runs a successful business. She holds a Ph.D in Nursing, and is a professor at the University of Colorado.  Despite the many benefits of intelligence, smart people have a knack for out-thinking themselves when making decisions.  Instead of using their formidable intelligence to remind themselves that the future will always be a place where the “best” option is never hiding in plain sight, they kick their analytic powers into overdrive for a long, protracted period of largely unhelpful deliberation.  Meanwhile, the all-important momentum needed to grow their career or their company slowly drains.

Only after hearing my diatribe on decisiveness and the empirical research on why it accelerates growth of all kinds do smart people finally give themselves permission to put their talent and intelligence into action every day with every decision.  But when they do…well, the results surprise even the smartest people.

How do you decide whether to take that other job or stay put?  How do you determine which kind of car you should buy?  How do you divvy up your personal spending?  Is the boost in pay from that promotion worth the extra work and responsibility?  Will deciding to go back to school be worth the tradeoff in time and money you’ll have to spend?  Will deciding to buy that house make you happier?  What process do you use to make these choices?

If you’re like most people, you have no defined process.  That makes people feel less confident about their judgments, more stressed when they ...  [ Read More ]]]> What is your decision process? It’s a simple question, but one that is incredibly difficult for 99.9% of people to answer.

How do you decide whether to take that other job or stay put?  How do you determine which kind of car you should buy?  How do you divvy up your personal spending?  Is the boost in pay from that promotion worth the extra work and responsibility?  Will deciding to go back to school be worth the tradeoff in time and money you’ll have to spend?  Will deciding to buy that house make you happier?  What process do you use to make these choices?

If you’re like most people, you have no defined process.  That makes people feel less confident about their judgments, more stressed when they have to make a decision, and more likely to waffle once they do finally make a choice.  That is precisely when in our workshops we train people to use a simple 3-step process.

1. Check your Pulse.  Every situation has a “Decision Pulse,” or a primary guiding principle.  The online Decision Pulse assessment helps people identify their individual Pulse for big career moves, relationship choices and other life decisions.  (NOTE: This process is identical for team decisions within an organization.  However, you will have a completely different Pulse for your work team or your company–one that is focused on business strategy, rather than on personal values.)

2. Consult your Anti-You. Human emotion is an amazing gift…except when it causes you to make counter-productive decisions.  The most efficient solution to the problem of emotional bias is to ask some other person for their objective opinion. This simple act can prevent you from being blindsided by all sorts of well-documented judgment errors.

3. Just Decide.  At this point, you simply have to choose one course of action over another.

This 3-step process boils down to identifying the right overall direction, and then taking decisive action in that direction.   While no process can ever guarantee that you will always end up making the perfect choice all the time, this process does significantly increase the chance that your decisions will keep you moving in the right direction with speed and efficiency.

There’s 2 basic reasons

1. Genetics.  In a really fascinating series of studies, Georges Potworowski at the University of Michigan identified some of the more common causes and correlates of indecisive behavior.  (For more on the 4 types of indecisive behavior, check out my now infamous Psychology Today blog post on Kim Kardashian).  Among the list are high neurticism, low self-esteem, high conscientiousness (i.e. perfectionism), low conscientiousness (i.e. impulsive and disorganized).  All of which are personality variables that ...  [ Read More ]]]> If you haven’t noticed by now, I think decisiveness is pretty important. (For example, see…everything I’ve written in the past 12 years).  Most people tend to agree that decisiveness is a key attribute for success as a leader of team and a life.  So why isn’t everyone decisive?

There’s 2 basic reasons

1. Genetics.  In a really fascinating series of studies, Georges Potworowski at the University of Michigan identified some of the more common causes and correlates of indecisive behavior.  (For more on the 4 types of indecisive behavior, check out my now infamous Psychology Today blog post on Kim Kardashian).  Among the list are high neurticism, low self-esteem, high conscientiousness (i.e. perfectionism), low conscientiousness (i.e. impulsive and disorganized).  All of which are personality variables that are largely inherited.

That said, genetics are not destiny.  Some people are more genetically prone to obesity than other people.  But that doesn’t mean that diet and exercise can’t reduce our weight. Similarly, everyone can become at least 20% more decisive with very little effort.  In fact, I would argue that’becoming more decisive is a heck of a lot easier than losing weight.

2. Faulty Beliefs. Some of us believe that decisiveness and diligence/prudence are incompatible or somehow mutually exclusive.  The thinking goes, “sure it would be nice to make faster decisions, but I’m not impulsive.”  Or “I’m just analytical.”  Or “I just don’t settle for less than the best.”  Or…any one of the eight basic myths and misunderstandings about what it means to be decisive.  It’s not impulsive and it’s not about “trusting your gut.”  It’s about taking the available evidence or information and then choosing a course of action in a timely manner.

All the same, becoming more decisive will be harder for some people than others.  So, I suggest you take 2 baby steps.  The first step is to write down “I am a decider” on a sticky note and stick it on your bathroom mirror where you’ll have to look at it at least twice a day.  (Warning: You will feel like a dork, unless you live alone and never let guests use your bathroom.)  But I can promise you that this incredibly simple tactic works in a big way. So get over yourself, and give it a shot.   The second step is to take the 20% Challenge if you haven’t already done so.

The Action Gap – In the space between employee knowledge and organizational results is the Action Gap.  With regard to customer service and consultative sales, the action gap manifests itself in two ways.

1.   Failing to act.  The research literature conclusively shows that corporate training is highly effective at teaching people new knowledge.  An average manager could expect to leap from the 50th percentile (i.e. middle of the pack) in a specific topic area up to the 83rd percentile following a training course on that ...  [ Read More ]]]> Last week, I explained our research on the “Direction Deficiency” how it prevents employees from differentiating their company’s experience from that of their competitor’s.  This week I’m covering the second major obstacle for enabling your employees to grow your customer base.

The Action Gap – In the space between employee knowledge and organizational results is the Action Gap.  With regard to customer service and consultative sales, the action gap manifests itself in two ways.

1.   Failing to act.  The research literature conclusively shows that corporate training is highly effective at teaching people new knowledge.  An average manager could expect to leap from the 50th percentile (i.e. middle of the pack) in a specific topic area up to the 83rd percentile following a training course on that topic.⁴ However, rates of training effectiveness fall off into the Action Gap when training is expected to change an actual business outcome. In this case, the average employee will likely move only from the 50^th percentile to the 61^st percentile.⁴

The fact is that teaching people what to do and realizing business results from what they actualy do are two very different things.

This is due to what I call the Mike Tyson Rule.  When asked what he thought about an upcoming opponent’s ironclad plan to beat him, Tyson replied “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”  Every customer has an inner Mike Tyson who is just one hot button away from delivering a knockout blow to your service or sales associates. Because of the sheer quantity and diversity of personal interactions they encounter each day, customer service representatives must deal with more right hooks and left jabs on a daily basis than any other position in your organization.  At any given moment, they have a far greater likelihood of getting punched in the mouth and failing to execute your strategy the way they were trained.

2.   Customer-pleasers lose. Customer-leaders gain.  On the other hand, customer-facing employees also hold more potential than anyone else in your company for growing your customer base.  It is common knowledge that a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience, and that 13% of those dissatisfied customers will tell more than 20 people.  A lesser known fact is that when a service rep or sales associate helps a customer solve a problem, that customer will tell 4 to 6 people about that experience.  Imagine increasing your marketing effectiveness by four to six times.

The rub is that employees must be more than “nice” in order to solve a customer problem. Nice is merely a hedge against customer dissatisfaction–it prevents a new problem (i.e. an angry customer problem) from creeping up, but it doesn’t solve an existing problem.  Training service people to be nice will prevent your customer base from shrinking, but it won’t make your customer base grow.  That is most likely why a 2007 study found that departments run by customer service managers with a confident, action-oriented mindset deliver significantly better customer service than departments run by their less decisive peers.

Key Finding: Bridging the Action Gap requires more than effectively conveying knowledge about how to solve customer problems. Training efforts must focus more on conditioning employees to habitually take decisive action on the customer’s behalf.

At the same time, the numbers present an opportunity.  Even during poor economic times, 85% of consumers will pay more for a superior customer experience.1  That is probably why last year, 90% of North American businesses rated customer experience as “important” or “critical” to their strategic plans.3 In the race for growth amid an economic slump, companies are also paying close attention to the fact that ...  [ Read More ]]]> Just four years ago in those halcyon, pre-recession days 59% of customers would stop doing business with you because of a bad customer experience. Today that number has jumped to 82%.¹ That is an especially scary number considering that the cost of finding a new customer is a staggering 5 times higher than the cost of retaining an existing customer.²

At the same time, the numbers present an opportunity.  Even during poor economic times, 85% of consumers will pay more for a superior customer experience.¹  That is probably why last year, 90% of North American businesses rated customer experience as “important” or “critical” to their strategic plans.³ In the race for growth amid an economic slump, companies are also paying close attention to the fact that 55% of customers will refer friends to a company because of its service, whereas only 49% do so because of its products, and only 42% because of price.¹ 

Decision Pulse research reveals that the majority of organizations are already placing an appropriate amount of attention on customers and the customer experience they provide.  However, our research indicates that the are still missing the mark in four critical areas.  For the next four weeks, I’ll be covering each area one by one.

1. Direction Deficiency – A full 80% of North American companies surveyed in 2010 said they would like to deliver a customer experience that differentiates their business from their competitors.³ Good customer service in a general sense is now an expectation that all customers place on all companies, all of the time.  Delivering a generically “good” or “pleasant” customer experience is merely table stakes.  It is no longer a differentiator for any company, especially when 8 out 10 of their competitors are explicitly striving to do the exact same thing.  To properly use the customer experience as a differentiator, companies must make their customer experience not just good, but unique.

Upon closer review, that uniqueness can almost always be found hidden somewhere within the company’s strategic direction. The greatest challenge customer service managers and trainers face is not empowering their customer service representatives and sales people, but in providing them with clear direction about how to execute the company’s strategy with every single customer interaction.

Key Finding:  Managers must translate their company’s unique strategic direction to front line service and sales associates in a way that is both simple enough to remember and easy enough to act upon during every customer interaction.

Next week, we’ll cover the second reason, “The Action Gap.”

The Negative Multiplier

Indecisiveness has an incredibly strong multiplier effect.  When you delay a decision, you are also delaying someone else’s progress–a vendor, a client, an employee, a spouse, a child, a teacher.  When you can’t decide what to order when you go out to dinner with friends or colleagues, you delay everyone else at the table from moving on with their dinner conversation, from receiving their food (not to mention your food) and from eventually leaving the restaurant with a full belly.  You have also delayed that server ...  [ Read More ]]]> Here’s a deal for you:  If you make a conscious effort to be 20% more decisive in just 1 out of every 5 choices you make today, you will improve your effectiveness by at least 80%.  Here’s why:

The Negative Multiplier

Indecisiveness has an incredibly strong multiplier effect.  When you delay a decision, you are also delaying someone else’s progress–a vendor, a client, an employee, a spouse, a child, a teacher.  When you can’t decide what to order when you go out to dinner with friends or colleagues, you delay everyone else at the table from moving on with their dinner conversation, from receiving their food (not to mention your food) and from eventually leaving the restaurant with a full belly.  You have also delayed that server who is now delaying everyone else in his section of the restaurant and the people waiting for a table and so on.

When you delay or waffle on a decision at work, the same thing happens.  You cost yourself as well as everyone else on your team time and creative mental energy.  You’ve also stretched out the feedback loop so that it now takes longer for you and everyone else to learn what’s working and what isn’t. In the worst case, you might delay a customer right into the arms of your competitor.

The Positive Multiplier

On the other hand, if you make a conscious effort to be more decisive just a fraction of the time, you then make the multiplier effect work for you instead of against you.  Now, everyone around you also has 20% more time and mental energy to work with (add an additional 20%  for every person on your team and you wind up with a pretty astonishing number).  You’ve also significantly condensed the learning curve for your team.  The bigger your team, the stronger the effect.

What’s even more amazing is that a 20% increase in decisiveness is actually really simple to achieve.  Weeks after a recent workshop, one of my clients said simply “it was an awakening.”  The insights alone made him instantly more decisive, before he had even had time to turn our decision process into a habit.  That’s because most of us have been trained to think about decisions only in terms of accuracy, rather than effectiveness.  Whether it’s a home decorating decision or a business strategy decision, we rarely consider how we might have arrived at the exact same choice (or a better one) in far less time with far less mental energy expended.

So, this week, take decisiveness for a test drive.  Make a conscious effort to be more decisive in just one out of every 5 decisions you make, and see where it takes you.  If at the end of the week, it works for you, then pay it forward by asking a friend or colleague to take the 20% Challenge.

Enjoy!