Decisiveness: The Art of Skillful Play Calling

Posted on October 06, 2010 by Nathan R Mitchell, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Just like professional coaches in the NFL and NBA, entrepreneurs and small-business owners practice the art of decisiveness. All of us make decisions every day. Some are simple and require little thought, and others are more complex. Decisiveness is having the power or quality of making determined and commanding decisions with little hesitation (www.wikipedia.com). The accuracy of decisions relies heavily on the amount of research and analysis that has been done prior to making them. Therefore, information gathering is critical for the entrepreneur, and so is the quality of information that is gathered.

Simple decisions usually require a simple process to reach a final decision. But complex decisions for the entrepreneur, especially those regarding strategic decisions, may involve issues like: uncertainty; complexity; potential negative consequences; evaluation of alternatives; as well as interpersonal issues that may surface as a result of the decision made, and how that might impact the overall performance of the team long-term. With these issues in mind, it is essential for the savvy entrepreneur to use an effective process when making important decisions for their venture.

In sports, play-calling is as much an art as it is a skill. The successful offensive coach spends hours preparing for every game, and regardless of the number of hours spent, does not know with any level of certainty what the defense is going to do on the day of the big game. It is important to note that the successful coach is able to track defensive trends which ultimately increase the chances of success; however, the opposing team prepares in the same way. Each coach goes into the game with their own game plan (a strategy to defeat the other team), yet throughout the game, quick adjustments and decisions must be made that will ultimately affect the outcome. These decisions, regardless of whether they end up being the right ones or not, must be indisputable. The coach cannot be indecisive in his play calling, and lose the confidence of his team.

And so it is in business. The successful entrepreneur must regularly spend hours studying the game, and organizing the information gathered in such a way that quick and accurate decisions can be made on the fly when necessary. In business, we are challenged daily to make important decisions. These decisions ultimately have a significant impact on the future of the business, as well as the people being lead within the organization. The decisive entrepreneur has the ability to make prompt decisions, and makes sure that they are clear and understood.

Being decisive does not mean once an important decision has been made, that it cannot be changed. Additional information is often received that will require the decision to change. (In the NFL this is referred to as an “audible.” An “audible” is a play that is called at the line of scrimmage that supersedes the original play called as a result of a change in strategy. This quick adjustment is typically based on additional information that a team has received regarding the current play). The most important thing when making decisions in your business, is to make sure your team respects the decisions you make. Over time, if you do your research and plan accordingly, excellent decisions will result, and your team will realize it. This will increase the level of confidence in your own decision-making skills, while encouraging your team members to support and stand by them as well.

Keep Winning!