I’ve had a few things on my mind lately…
Should I buy my niece fireworks for Christmas? Are the calories in a Busch Lite worth it? What are the odds that I get food poisoning from the Chinese place next to the gas station?
Life is full of empty decisions.
But Some Choices Mean Everything
We’ve all been there. Something comes up in our business (or our life) that has the possibility to change its course.
Thinking about it makes our stomach turn and our head spin.
In fact, we hate the thought of it so much that we delay our decision. For weeks, months, or years we let it take up space in our brain.
Until we’re forced to decide…
Should we hire this employee? Do we really need that new software? Is the extra time worth it?
In our heart we all know the answer. So, what’s the problem?
The problem is… The right answer is almost always the difficult one.
The one that could eat into our bottom line or might mean that we have to spend more time in the office.
In other words, the solution could mean more problems.
Problems Are the Answer
Difficult choices are signals of problems in our business… Problems that hold the secrets to our growth.
If we want success in our business, it’s our job to sniff out the problems that come to us disguised as difficult choices and solve them to move forward.
Frost Test
The Frost Test is something I do when I know that I have a big decision to make. In three steps, I’m able to kill these monsters before they become impossible beasts.
Step 1: Take the Time
So, we have to make a difficult decision. We feel it in our body and our brain works hard to find ways to delay the decision.
Recognizing this, we decide to block off one hour of “thinking” first thing tomorrow morning.
The next day, we grab a cup of coffee and take a seat at our desk.
And let the wheels start turning.
Step 2: The Path Well Worn?
Like anything difficult in life, we realize that this decision is a two-way street. One that leads down a road that we’re familiar with and one that can seem scary or impossible at the time.
The first street is one we’ve traveled before. We know its turns and its potholes and they never seem to change. It’s safe and we’re confident that we’ll get home without any issues.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, the other road has always called us. Maybe there’s something down it that we’re missing?
Step 3: Or the Road Less Traveled?
After taking a few steps, we turn back for one more look at the other road.
And it sucks.
Everything about this road is unfamiliar and our brain is sure to make its feelings known:
“No, stop! Please don’t do this! We have no idea where it leads… It could be hard. There might thieves, or spiders… or a solution to our problem down there!”
But our body is energized. We know that we’ll find our way home. At worst, it’ll be a good story.
Fuck it.
Squaring our shoulders and standing a little taller, we pull up our pants and tie our boots a bit tighter.
We do the hard thing, and it takes longer than expected. We do the hard thing, and we spend more money than we could have ever imagined. We do the hard thing, and we figure it out.
Our business, and our life, moves forward.
So the next time you’ve got a difficult decision to make, understand that your choices mean more than you might think.
With this in mind we’ll be able to move our business forward at a speed that now seems out of reach.
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