This article will cover the five key steps to making critical decisions that can affect your business. Needless to say, entrepreneurs will be facing them a lot in their business career. Some of these are perhaps some of the most business-altering, if not, life-changing decisions. It can affect individuals, the entire business trajectory, and it can be for better or worse. So now, let’s take a look at the following key steps so you can make those critical decisions without overthinking it.

The first step is to define the problem. You want to get a clear snapshot of what it is. A thorough understanding of it will help you. You want to know about the situation, the implications, and the potential impact it can have on a business. This would be a good time to gather all the relevant information you can along with what the underlying cause of this issue might be. You need to have a solid enough foundation as possible that can support the decision you’re about to make.

Secondly, you want to gather as much information as possible. You will need to do in-depth research, collect any relevant data, and also consider various perspectives. At this stage, you need to make sure everything is accurate so don’t be afraid to double check whatever it is you need to include. You shouldn’t rely on one source. You need plenty of them. It’s also important to carefully analyze every piece of data you can in order to make a decision. Again, it has to be solid evidence that will help support your impending decision.

Third is one of the trickier parts of the process. You now need to evaluate your options. So in this instance, you want to assess the feasibility, the risks, and the potential outcomes of each option. Also, you want to consider the short-term and long-term implications. Does it need a cost-benefit analysis, assuming it’s a financial decision? Does it need a SWOT analysis? Or is it a decision where you need to weigh the pros and cons. You may be looking to let go of someone from the team. What are the pros and cons of letting go of that one person? What can you stand to lose? What will be affected if the person is no longer part of your group. At this point, you need t carefully weigh your options and at that point, you will need to select one that is the most suitable.

Fourth, it’s time to make the decision and execute on it. And at this point, it may be a good idea to share this decision with someone on your team who you can trust.  If you are making an impending critical decision, one thing to know is that if it’s something you plan on doing in the future, consider whether or not it’s important to inform your team members first of what’s going on. No one likes surprises - albeit the surprises that will hit them like a ton of bricks. So you will need to make a decision and have the confidence in doing so.

Finally, implement the decision. Self-explanatory if we say so ourselves. Just implement the decision, any plans that go along with it, allocate the necessary resources, and monitor it regularly. Then you’ll see the whole thing play out.  The decision may prove itself to have a positive impact or a negative one. Trial and error is always one of those things that happens in business. And making critical decisions is part of them.

That will be it for this article. We hope you’ve learned something from this. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out or join our strategic growth network using the signup form below.