The Truth About Winning at Work (Collection), 2/e

Truth 42. Decision making: The fastest don’t always finish first

We’ve all worked with managers who, rather than make a difficult decision, will procrastinate until the last possible minute—preferring the status quo or trying to sidestep potential conflict. By consequence, this absence of action often makes matters worse.

On the other hand, America’s self-proclaimed CEO of the nineties, "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap, took Sunbeam Corporation to its knees with his failure to anticipate or manage the unraveling of his organization. He hastily made all the decisions—many before he walked in the door—and he reportedly listened to no one in the process.

In times of organizational change, you will be making dozens of decisions—gathering the facts, defining ...