10 Ways Successful People Make Smart Decisions

Travis Bradberry

With so many decisions taking up each day, learning to make them effectively is essential to your success and happiness.

Great decisions don’t happen by accident. In this article, originally published on LinkedIn Pulse, Dr. Travis Bradberry shares a proven process we can all follow to improve the choices we make.

Your days are filled with a constant stream of decisions. A study from Columbia University found that we’re bogged down by a good 70 decisions a day.

Some decisions are minor, such as what to eat, which route to drive to work or in what order to tackle tasks. Others are more difficult, such as deciding between two job offers, whether to move to a new city for someone you love or whether to cut a toxic person out of your life.

With so many decisions taking up each day, learning to prioritize and make them effectively is essential to your success and happiness.

Although there are many strategies successful people use for effective decision-making, what follows are the cream of the crop.

1. They turn small decisions into routines.

Decision-making works like a muscle: As you use it over the course of the day, it gets too exhausted to function effectively. One of the best strategies successful people use to work around their decision fatigue is to eliminate smaller decisions by turning them into routines. Doing so frees up mental resources for more complex decisions.

Steve Jobs famously wore a black turtleneck to work every day. Mark Zuckerberg still dons a hoodie. Both men have stated that these iconic images are the simple result of daily routines intended to cut down on decision fatigue. They were both aware of our finite daily ability to make good decisions, as is Barack Obama, who said, “You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing, because I have too many other decisions to make.”

2. They make big decisions in the morning.

Another great way to beat decision fatigue is to save small decisions for after work (when decision fatigue is greatest) and to tackle complex decisions in the morning, when your mind is fresh. When you’re facing a stream of important decisions, a great trick is to wake up early and work on your most complicated tasks before you get hit with a bunch of distracting minor decisions (phones ringing, emails coming in). A similar strategy is to do some of the smaller things the night before to get a head start on the next day. For instance, lay out your outfit at night so you don’t even have to think about it when you wake up.

3. They pay attention to their emotions.

There’s an old saying: “Don’t make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions,” and it definitely rings true. Successful people recognize and understand their emotions (including their intensity and impact on behavior) so that they are able to look at decisions as objectively and rationally as possible.

Unfortunately, most people aren’t good at managing or even recognizing their emotions. TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that only 36 percent of us are able to accurately identify our emotions as they happen. Strong decision-makers, on the other hand, know that a bad mood can make them lash out or stray from their moral compass just as easily as a good mood can make them overconfident and impulsive.

4. They evaluate their opinions objectively.

When really wrapped up in a decision, successful people weigh their options against a predetermined set of criteria because they know this makes decision-making easier and more effective. Here are some helpful criteria to consider:

• How does this decision benefit me?
• How does it hurt me?
• How does this benefit ___?
• How does it hurt ___?
• Would I regret making this decision?
• Would I regret not making this decision?
• Does this decision reflect my values?

5. They sleep on decisions.

Sleeping on your decision ensures you have clarity of thought when you approach it the next day. It also allows time for your emotions to run their course. When you act too quickly, you tend to react, but when you give more focus and time to your decision, you expose important facets of it that you didn’t see before.

6. They don’t wait too long, though.

Successful people know the importance of gathering as much information as they can, but at the same time, they make certain not to fall prey to analysis paralysis. Instead of waiting for the stars to align, successful people know that they need to have a timetable to follow in reaching their decision. Once they set that date, they are motivated to do their homework and some soul-searching in order to meet that deadline.

7. They use exercise to recharge.

The stress of a major decision naturally produces cortisol, the chemical that triggers the fight-or-flight response. Cortisol clouds your ability to think clearly and rationally. When you find yourself stressing about a decision, try exercising. As little as 30 minutes is all it takes to get a good endorphin-fueled buzz to return to mental clarity. Exercise also helps you get past that fight-or-flight state by putting the cortisol to practical use. Research shows that long-term exercise improves the overall functioning of the brain regions responsible for decision-making.

8. They always return to their moral compass.

Successful people know the importance of sticking to their morals when making an important decision. Morals serve as trusted guides when your emotions pull you in a different direction.

9. They seek outside counsel.

When approaching a decision, we have a natural tendency to pick an alternative and then gather information to support that decision, instead of gathering information and then choosing a side (this is called confirmation bias). A great way to beat confirmation bias is to seek outside opinions and advice from people who bring different perspectives to your situation. Their perspectives help you weigh your options more objectively and spot your subjective or irrational tendencies.

10. They reflect on previous decisions.

Mark Twain described the complicated nature of decision-making as follows: “Good decisions come from experience, but experience comes from making bad decisions.” This isn’t to say that the only way to become a great decision-maker is to make a ton of mistakes; it just means that it’s important to keep past decisions front of mind. Successful people are aware enough of past decisions to use them to their benefit when something similar comes up.

With repercussions that can last days, weeks and even years, making great decisions is an effort that’s worth every bit of your time and energy.

Source: https://www.success.com/article/10-ways-successful-people-make-smart-decisions

5 Things Not to Do Running a Small Business

Maria Rapetskaya

I've been a creative entrepreneur since 2005. My first design company was a partnership with my significant other. It was largely a freestyle experiment in running a business, conducted live over the course of five years. As a business, it was marginally successful. As a learning experience, it was my equivalent of a masters of business administration. 

So, by the time I had started my second and current company, I had a pretty good blueprint of don't's for running a small business. I had been fortunate enough to make the mistakes that have yielded five valuable lessons learned -- lessons that have truly paid off the second time around.

1. Don't rush into partnerships.

It was only after my original partner and I parted ways did I recognize that we should never have had a professional partnership in the first place. Just because someone is your best friend, long-time coworker and / or significant other hardly qualifies them as the perfect candidate for maintaining a business. I say “maintaining” because it’s far easier to get excited about the prospect starting a company than being able to handle the day-to-day reality of running it efficiently.

The best partner is typically someone whose skills and approach are the polar opposite of yours. The first ensures the you are able to cover a lot more ground without additional employees. The second may create conflict, but it'll force you both to defend your business instincts and weed out lesser ideas before you waste resources.

2. Don’t get discouraged.

Running a company isn’t a goal -- it’s a long, winding road. Enjoy the process! Unless your goal is to cash out, and you’ve got some built-in exit strategy, chances are you want a long-term entrepreneurial career. You will have ups, and you will have downs -- possibly in the same week or even day. You will gain amazing clients and lose others for reasons fair and unfair. That’s all part of having a business.

I’ve yet to encounter a single business owner who’s reached some grand, stable plateau beyond failure, disappointment and doubt. We all experience it. Instead of discouragement, focus on becoming more resilient, on learning how to handle stress productively.

3. Don’t forget why you wanted to start a business in the first place.

Whether it’s following a passion or having more control over your time to devote to family, always remember why you started down this road in the first place. It’s easy to get carried away and forget what it was you wanted from your own business. I, for example, was driven by quality-of-life factors, especially time off for my other passion -- travel. At times, temporary sacrifice may be truly necessary, but it pays to be conscious of when you’re in danger of permanently shelving the very thing you wanted most.

4. Don't try to do everything yourself.

I started my first company with $500 -- barely enough to cover the costs of incorporation. So, right away, I developed an addiction to doing everything myself. My partner was only capable, willing and able to do so much, and I found myself doing a lot of admin tasks I never anticipated. Those tasks came with learning curves, and they took up valuable time and energy -- energy that could have been directed at helping the business grow.

I didn’t make this mistake twice. With my second, far more successful attempt, I contracted my business half just a couple of months in. Although my expenses grew, now I could focus on doing better work as well as devote time to business development. Both actions helped to grow the company far quicker than my former money-saving attempts at being my own bookkeeper. 

So, resist the urge to cover all the ground alone. Saving financial resources is important, but don't let your task list undermine your big goals.

5. Don't stop evolving.

Your strategy, your marketing plan, your target market -- nothing is set in stone. The world is changing more and more rapidly each day. Your industry will likely experience a shift, whether slight or monumental, at some point. As a small business, you are at a disadvantage, because your resources are a lot more limited. But you have a priceless advantage in ability to change course and adapt far quicker than a larger organization.

The best way to remain relevant is keeping your eyes open for changing tides, your mind open to new ideas and staying flexible. 

And, of course, don't be too afraid of making your own mistakes!

Source:https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253073