Making Faster, Smarter Business Decisions
Speed in business doesn't necessarily mean recklessness. The objective here is to allocate your time and effort in proportion to the actual risks you face. Here's how.
Categorize your decisions by their reversibility
Not all decisions deserve the same efforts. There's one question to ask before you invest more time: if this decision proves wrong, how difficult will it be to fix the mistake?
Reversible (testing a new tool, trying out an ad campaign, changing a meeting format): make a quick decision even if you don't have full information yet. A mistake will cost you little, but will give you experience.
Irreversible (hiring a senior leader, entering a new market, signing a contract): take your time, seek more opinions, and test your assumptions.
Most decisions are the former, and trying to treat them as if they were the latter – that's what slows teams down.
Formulate what you're actually deciding on
Half of the delay stems from poor questions. Formulate your decision in one sentence: "Shall we transition to vendor B by the end of this quarter?" is much easier to decide on than "What shall we do with our vendor problem?"
Decide by a certain date
Decision-making expands to fit the time you provide. Pick the date or time limit, and treat it like any other deadline. Even "We'll decide on that by Thursday" saves you weeks of delays.
Don't wait for the perfect information
Useful rule of thumb: if you've got around 70% of information, make a decision. Waiting for 90% information usually means that you're too late, and the additional 20% usually doesn't change anything.
Ask yourself: "Which one piece of information will actually change my decision?" Go to get it, and forget the rest.
Reduce the number of participants in the process
Too many participants slow down everything. Follow this structure:
One decision-maker who's accountable for the decision.
A few advisors whose opinions help.
All the rest get the information after you've made the decision and it's important to make that distinction clear in advance.
Use simple decision-making models, not complex analyses
When you have to choose, one of these models can help you decide quickly:
Pros and cons, and the worst-case scenario. What's the best outcome, the probable outcome, and the worst outcome? Are you ready to deal with the worst?
Impact against the effort. Choose the option where the impact is high, but the effort is low.
10/10/10 rule. How will you feel about this decision in 10 minutes, in 10 months, and in 10 years?
Pre-mortem: imagine how your project will fail in six months from now, and solve these issues right now.
Decide how you'll know if you're wrong.It's much easier to make a decision if you know that you'll be able to change it later. But before making a commitment, set a checkpoint for yourself: "If the sign-up rate won't improve in 30 days, we'll reconsider". This way, you turn a risky decision into an experiment.
Develop your default rules for repeated decisions
If you have to make the same decision again and again, stop wasting your time and make a simple rule.
"Any purchase under ₹25,000 doesn't require any approval".
"We always reply to our clients' complaints in less than 24 hours".
"We don't accept projects with margins lower than X".
This will free up your time for real decisions.
Common mistakes to avoid
Overthinking: more research usually only feeds your anxiety, not your clarity.
Seeking consensus: aiming for consensus usually leads to mediocre decisions.
Fear of being wrong: usually, a slow decision is even more costly than a bad one you could adjust.
Sunk cost fallacy: don't continue just because you've already invested in it.
Decision fatigue: make crucial decisions early in the morning, and cut unnecessary ones.
After making a decision, commit
Communicate your decision, justify it briefly, and designate an owner. And then – move forward. To reopen a decision again and again – as ineffective as not making it at all.
Quick checklist
Is it reversible or irreversible?
Is the decision formulated in one sentence?
Is there a deadline?
Do I have enough information (around 70%)?
Is there one decision-maker?
Do I know which data will tell me that I'm wrong?
Have I communicated it and designated an owner?
Key message: Speed comes not from hurrying, but from clarity. Know what you decide on, know what's at risk, and give yourself the freedom to change along the way.
Deciding Fast, Without Deciding Badly Speed matters, but only when it has direction. Here’s the short version: - Set your goal first. Write it in one line before looking at options. (E.g., “reach 5,000 repeat customers in six months” quickly settles Amazon vs. Nykaa.)
- Focus on the key facts. Identify the two or three pieces of information that would actually change your decision, and ignore the rest.
- Break it down. Turn big questions into small ones you can answer in days, like demand, hiring, and pilot cost for a new city.
- Pair instinct with data. Trust your gut, then spend a couple of hours verifying it before committing money.
- Fix your criteria early. Choose 3 to 5 criteria, score the options, and drop anything below the cutoff.
- Delegate with limits. Let your team approve decisions up to a set amount (e.g., ₹10,000) without waiting for you.
- Learn from mistakes. Do a quick 15-minute review after a miss, and treat it as useful data.
- Use AI wisely. Automate routine calls and summaries, but double-check AI output on big decisions.
- Set time limits. Roughly 10 minutes for small decisions, 48 hours for medium ones, a week for big ones.
- Test, then scale. Run a small trial first, so a weak result costs little. The winners are those who decide, learn, and correct the quickest.Key message: Speed comes not from hurrying, but from clarity. Know what you decide on, know what's at risk, and give yourself the freedom to change along the way.
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