Decision-making is one of the most important skills any entrepreneur needs to learn and adopt in order to achieve lasting success in business. When you look back at some of the most successful companies in the world success can almost always be traced back to effective or ineffective decision-making, yet it is a skillset that many entrepreneurs have very little knowledge of.
We all are involved in the decision making process in our day-to-day life, whether in office or at home or elsewhere. We say good about those who can take quick decisions; we call them efficient and effective. One may feel it is futile to discuss about this topic stating that this trait is an innate part of our character and nothing much is possible to be done.
We see some people taking decisions and moving forward while some others stay put with the current situation due to indecision. Some make bold decisions, take risks and jump far ahead and out of reach of others while some exercise extreme caution and make little progress.
Just think of it for a moment:
- What is it that made Microsoft a corporate superstar?
- What is it that made Apple rise and fall and rise again?
- What is it that transformed Facebook into a global phenomenon with over 800 million users?
- What is it that make Google so popular and profitable?
- What is it that led to the collapse of Bear Sterns?
The answer is always the same: the decisions that were made. Let’s just take one of these companies to illustrate the point. When Apple made a decision to have its own software for its computers it was a masterstroke that will continue to gain them a reputation for stability, simplicity and virus-free computing.
In addition this groundbreaking decision would enable them to generate significantly more revenue streams, and the ability to launch products with embedded software faster.
Yet despite the early success the business made a series of average decisions that saw the shares in the company stumble. And here the decisions started again – it was decided to bring back the founder and former CEO Steve Jobs to give them direction.
Since this decision Apple has again become a powerhouse in the IT industry and continues to outpace the competition.
Another great example of how powerful decision-making can impact the overall success of an organization is Creel Price. One of the world’s most dynamic entrepreneurs, Creel cofounded Blueprint Management Group with $5,000 in capital and later sold it for over $100 million dollars.
In his recent publication: The One Thing to Win at the Game of Business Creel attributes his success and journey as an entrepreneur to a methodology he calls: Decisionship, the ability to make faster, more effective decisions without the angst. A business formula that is now included in the curriculum in the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship.
Since retiring from business Creel is on a mission to help more entrepreneurs achieve business success though his initiative decisionship.com. An online platform that offers decision making tools and programs for entrepreneurs. Decisionship have also launched a competition to find the worlds best business decisions with over $40,000 in prizes, including a Branson Centre Bootcamp in South Africa.
The resulting databank of decisions will be provided free of charge so that both budding and experienced entrepreneurs can tap into and learn from the hindsight of their peers before making important business decisions. To register go to www.decisionship.com
These are just two examples but if you look back at some of the most successful leaders, entrepreneurs and CEO’s you will soon find they all had the enact ability to make quick and fast decisions under any circumstance. Therefore the raison deter of any successful entrepreneur is to make and execute decisions. Thus, decision making is the heart of entrepreneurship.
