Do you ever find yourself sitting at your desk staring into space and wondering what the next step should be to solve a problem, improve productivity or just simply to get from point A to point B in a project?
I certainly do.
I find myself thinking, rethinking, taking a deep breath and then thinking it all through again. Ultimately I find myself paralyzed by indecision.
I’ve been in the ERP Implementation Services and consulting business for a long time now. The number one threat I see to most ERP implementation projects is indecision from the client’s management team or the person the appointed to head up the project.
What happens all too often is that they put a tremendous amount of effort into thinking things through, but are so wrapped up in ideas and abundant information that they never actually make a decision.
“I sure am doing a good job of not making the wrong decision!”
Said no manager ever.
They usually start out by saying “If I do X then Y might happen, but what if Z happens? Maybe I better think this through again.”
This is great. Applying logic to the decision making process in business is incredibly important. However, all too often it turns into “maybe I better wait and see if I come to a different conclusion tomorrow.” Not only are you now “paralyzed”, but so is your staff and your project.
In my line of work, if I were paralyzed by indecision it would cause my customer’s ERP implementation projects to be delayed. Our projects are fixed-fee, so not only would it cost us money, it would also cost my customer’s staff time and possibly their ability to deliver to their customers as well.
Indecision cascades from the top down. What effect would it have on your organization?
How Indecision Can Negatively Affect Your Bottom Line
I would like to share a story about indecision that I experienced with a client that happened a few years ago.
I went onsite to visit with a client that was interested in upgrading their Sage 100 (MAS 90) system. We had provided a quote to do the upgrade but the customer wanted to have me come onsite to see their operation first hand and talk about some of their challenges.
As I toured their facility, I met each different members of their team and learned more about their business. We got to one office and the owner introduced me to
I immediately replied, “It can!” I told him that we can write custom reports to take the place of the Excel spreadsheets and we have a product that can deliver those reports via email to the appropriate recipients. I can turn you from reactive to proactive in no time. I could completely automate Cindy’s job freeing her up to do other functions. In effect, I could save Cindy’s salary less the cost of the product and my services. It was in the neighborhood of a 60 – 70% Return on Investment gain in year one and 100% in all subsequent years. I thought it was a “no brainer”, but naturally he wanted to think about it.
This was several years ago. Cindy still continues to perform the exact same job function. They are doing things the way they have always done them. People are still waiting for Cindy to create the reports and manually deliver them. Management can’t make decisions on how to run the business until they have the reports and even when they do get their reports the data is already a week old.
I continue to check in with them every so often. The owner understands the savings and ROI as the math is pretty simple. He’s just not sure if he wants to spend the money. He’s even cognizant of the fact that his decision paralysis is really costing him money and productivity that could go straight to the bottom line.
Don’t Make a Decision Just for the Sake of Being Decisive
The purpose of this story is not to suggest that you should have an itchy trigger finger, but that you should be conscious of when you are over analyzing an issue.
You are in a decision making position because someone (most likely your immediate superior) expects and trusts you to make decisions. You have to be confident in what you know while having the appropriate amount of fear for what you don’t. You can’t let that fear stop you from making the decision but let is act more like the lines that keep in your lane on the road.
Every once in a while you’re going to run over some of those bumpy things just outside the lines. That’s OK; those are there to warn you that you’re getting off course. Learn from those bumps, get back in your lane and keep moving ahead.
What is your indecision costing you?
