Israel Business Management

As Michael Jordan's famous quote goes, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life."

Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan realized that to succeed, you have to fail. But, to fail, you must be willing to take the chance.

When you have a tough decision to make, what is the process in your company? Do you, as a senior executive, agonize over that decision? Do you invite the executive team to help in the process and, if so, how much are they involved?

Do you find yourself with a slow trigger finger, where you are unable to make the decision?

It is a necessity in companies to clearly define the process for decision-making, so you can figure out who should have the ball with the game on the line and who will, hopefully, make that shot.

Analyzing the steps in the process will help make you a better decision maker under pressure and going through the process will reduce the chance of a miss in your decision.

Let's look at the steps:
1. What is the decision that needs to be made? For Michael Jordan, this was whether he would step up and take the shot or pass to one of his teammates?

2. When does the decision need to be made? Again for MJ, this was dependent on the clock and how much time was remaining. If he waited too long, the buzzer would have sounded and the game would have been lost. Too early and the other team has a chance to win the game with a shot at the other end of the floor.

3. Who needs to be involved in the decision making process? For the Chicago Bulls, this was the team on the floor (5 players) and the coach.

4. Think of any alternatives or what if no decision is to made - This is a challenge in the NBA. It is binary. You score, you win. You don't, you lose. Business may offer alternatives to this decision that were not yet considered. This is where "thinking outside of the box" comes in.

5. Communicate and implement the decision - The Bulls team returns to the floor, inbounds the ball and Michael Jordan hits a jumper of Craig Ehlo for a win. Click here to see it in action.

How do you handle decision-making?