By Martin Zwilling
One of the most important skills for every entrepreneur is timely and effective decision making. In a startup, any decision is better than no decision. One of the primary roles of every founder is to solve problems, make a decision, and manage the decision to results. The best entrepreneurs relish this role, while others struggle mightily and ultimately lose their health and their company.
In fact, there is much evidence that these same skills are a key to happiness and success in every area of your life and career. I found the book, “Master Your Time, Master Your Life,” by noted speaker and productivity expert Brian Tracy, who highlights decision making and problem solving as one of the most critical determinants of your success in everything you do.
Since I’m not a life coach, I can’t comment on the broader implications, but in my role as advisor to many startups, I do often find myself recommending a focus on many of his key points, which I will paraphrase here:
Think in terms of action. Action starts with absolute clarity on the goals you want to achieve. Thus I always recommend that you document and clarify, first to yourself, the results you see in your vision of a new venture. Having a great idea is necessary, but not sufficient, to create a great business. Success in business is all about actions, not ideas.
Assume there is always a solution. To solve problems, you need confidence that there is a solution and that you can find it. Without this confidence and determination to make a decision, you will likely fall victim to the malaise of excuses. Everyone needs the growing momentum of solving small problems to incent them to “change the world” with their idea.
Expand your definition of the problem. In business, as in life, most problems have multiple dimensions. The more you understand the scope of a problem, the more likely you are to arrive at the right definition, which will lead to the correct solution. In fact, there are always multiple solutions, so a better definition always leads to a better decision.
Separate symptoms from real constraints. In a new venture, much time can be wasted attacking symptoms rather that the real constraints holding your business back. The right first step is to go back to your goals to focus on the real limiting factors when you encounter problems with sales, growth, profitability, market share, or costs.
Use brainstorming for a range of solutions. Harried entrepreneurs too often jump on the first solution that comes to mind, rather than looking for the best solution. Many techniques have been developed, such as brainstorming, to expand your thinking and identify up to twenty solutions for a given problem. The best will not be first on your list.
Assign responsibility for results. It’s amazing how many business problem-solving meetings end with a clear, agreed-upon decision, but two weeks later the problem still exists. This represents a lack of responsibility assignment or acceptance, or lack of follow-up. Your job as entrepreneur or executive does not end with picking a solution.
Work to enhance your problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills need constant tuning as your position of responsibility improves, and your business becomes more successful and visible to competitors. Even the best entrepreneurs find more experienced and skillful mentors to help them improve, and explore new tools to conquer problems.
In all cases of business problem solving and making decisions, another important skill is your ability to think about priorities, both before you act and while you are acting. The best entrepreneurs have the ability to focus on the really important issues, and say no to all the other requests vying for their time. Thus they effectively accomplish vastly more than the others.
If you are looking to move up in your business career, or looking to adopt the lifestyle of an entrepreneur to take control of your time and your life, make sure that you follow the steps outlined here for success, self-esteem, and real happiness. Life is too short to be unhappy in your work.
The writer is a veteran startup mentor, executive, blogger, author, tech professional, and Angel investor. Published on Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc, Huffington Post, and others.