Entrepreneurial decision making – how to make decisions like a CEO
As an entrepreneur we have to make SO MANY decisions, every single day, especially when we don’t have a (big) team. Micro decisions or life-changing decisions.So how do you actually make the BEST decisions for your business?Here are 5 rules /methods you can use to help you make better decisions:
- Use the rule: IN CASE OF DOUBT, DON’T!
This rule is especially valuable when it comes to hiring decisions (hiring a team, hiring staff, hiring a freelancer, hiring a service provider, hiring a coach, hiring a business partner).
If you have this nagging feeling when you are still in the “matchmaking phase” that something is off and that you aren’t 100% convinced whether there is a match, then do not hire this person.
BTW. The opposite of this rule is the “I need to hire someone now, because I am so busy” decision making rule. NOT A GOOD RULE! This will almost certainly lead to some relief in the short term but a ton of headache in the long term. Believe me, been there, done that… - What do the numbers tell you?
I always recommend you make a business case for any major decision that you want to make. Let’s say you want to launch a course. Don’t only do it because your intuition tells you to, but actually run the numbers. How many people would you need in your course at the price point you have in mind. And how many leads would you need to get to that number of people in your course. And what would that mean in terms of how large your audience needs to be. This is of course just an example that I happened to work on this week with a client.
If you do not know the numbers, it’s hard to make a good decision. Or you might follow your heart and then find out 3 months down the line that your idea was completely unrealistic! - Sleep on it
This is my favorite rule for decision making. So often, I tend to get carried away with a great idea, but when I sleep on it, I know that this is probably not the smartest thing to do looking at where I am in my business right now. So if you are multi-passionate and creative like me, sleep on it! - What would …. [insert your opposite] decide?
Oh this one is so so so goodÂ
 !
What is your pitfall when it comes to making decisions? Maybe you know that you tend to avoid hard decisions? Now think of someone who is the opposite of you when it comes to making those hard decisions. And next time you have to make a hard decision, ask yourself “what would … decide?”. When I just started out as a CEO, I reported to an older German board chairman called Wolfgang, and I always asked myself “what would Wolfgang do?”. My husband even sometimes asked “what would Wolfgang do?”. Not because I wanted to do what Wolfgang did, but because it was such a good way to look at options from a completely different perspective. - Keep the end in mind.
If you read Stephen Covey, then you know this one. Always have the end goal in mind. And when you have to take a decision, ask yourself: does this decision bring me 1 step closer to my end goal? If not, it’s not the right decision!
That’s it, 5 ways to make decisions like a CEO!
The one decision making rule that I did not include in this list is follow your intuition. I am highly intuitive myself, and I definitely recommend you follow your intuition.But, if you want to reach your goals, then I also recommend you practice thinking like a CEO and making more strategic decisions, like the 5 rules I mentioned above!I hope this was helpful, and I hope you will try these rules! Let me know which one was new for you, and also let me know if you’d like more examples or if you have a specific decision that you need to make
ps. I am offering CEO mentoring to entrepreneurs who want to take their CEO skills to the next level. We can for example work on your strategic thinking, decision making, hiring a team, systems, finance and all the other aspects of you stepping into your CEO shoes. We meet twice a month to strategize. Send me a DM on Instagram if you are interested in learning more!
