One Way Door Decision

Decision Making Can be Difficult

But the best businesses know that fast decision making is critical for moving forward -- not getting stuck in the mundane quest of finding the perfect decision.  Many people allow themselves to anguish in deciding any decision.  Though, only the high-impact decisions that can have a big impact if made incorrectly. These high impact decisions (one way door decision) make up maybe 10% of all decisions. 

The low impact ones (two way door decisions) can be made quickly with low impact.  That's why it's important to have a high level of confidence in your choice before making a one-way door decision.  Examples of a one way decision could be quitting a job, building a house (or data center), etc.

One Way Door Decision Made Wrong

I was working for a Fortune 100 business known for its bureaucracy.  I found that unfortunately, people were afraid of being wrong...making the wrong decision. And worse, this was a cultural issue.  If a decision needed to be made of literally any consequence, it would be pushed up and up, until finally some executive would make the decision.  

I was leading a major initiative across the business.  Success of this initiative was paramount and the business considered this one of the top-5 most important programs.   I was working with a vendor to source equipment (the only vendor for this particular product) -- the equipment was going to be about $80MM.  Yes.  A great deal of money.  The challenge was that we needed to spend this (no way around it) and the price was going up in 4 months to $120MM ($40MM more).  The CFO had decision making authority over this -- it was a no brainer.  The positive impact to the business would be felt from this spend.

Well 6 months later, the decision was finally made to approve the cost.  The $80MM did in fact increase to $120MM.  And the business paid it.  $40MM lost due to slow decision making.

One Way Door vs Two Way Door

A one way door decision is one that can't be undone or changed easily once made. These are typically about 10% of all decisions.  They're usually final decisions with a lot of consequences, so it's important to be extra careful before making one.  You want to be sure you have sufficient data to support the decision.  And alternatives -- what are they in place of this?  What if it doesn't go well after you've made the decision?

A two way door decision is one that can be undone and changed once made.  This is about 90% of all of your decisions.  You can read our article two way door quick decision making

Tips for Making a One Way Door Decision

Here are some tips for making sure you're confident in your decision before making a one-way door decision:

1. Do your research.
   • Make sure you understand all the options and consequences before making a decision. One way door decisions are usually complex, so it's important to take the time to understand all the factors involved.  Look at the data.  How does it support the decision. 
   • Are there options to this specific decision.  Can you weight the options -- maybe a SWOT analysis could help. 
   • Also, I've found that listing the negatives of a decision -- and the specific negative impact that would be caused <<  How big is that impact? >> is a helpful exercise as well.  
     
     
2. Get input from others.
   • Get input and advice from people you trust before making a one-way door decision. They may have experience or knowledge that you don't, which can help you make a more informed decision. 
   • Depending on the scope of the decision -- should you connect with peers and validate your analysis from #1?  For major business decisions, would it be valuable to bounce the ideas off of the board or outside peer mentors?
     
     
3. Consider all the options.
   • Don't just go with the first option that seems good. Consider all the potential options, impacts and outcomes before making a one way door decision.  Based on the above assessments ... is one better than the next and why? 
   • Are there alternatives to do if you make this one way door decision and it doesn't work out?
     
     
4. Make a plan
   • Before making a one-way door decision, make a plan for how you'll execute it and what you'll do if things don't go as planned. Having a plan will help you feel more confident in your decision and prepared for any potential challenges.
   • As the plan is built, go through the scenario and try to poke holes in it.  I've even seen teams in M&A do blue team and red team scenarios to further validate the decision to buy a business.  This concept can be used for other one way door decisions outside of M&A as well
     
     
5. Be prepared to live with the consequences.
   1. Before making a one-way door decision, be prepared to live with the consequences, good or bad. Consider how the decision will impact your life and the lives of those around you.
      
      

Making one-way door decisions can be difficult, but if you take the time to do your research, get input from others, and consider all the options, you can make a decision you're confident in.

If you have any questions, please contact Born Leadership.