Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

The most sound strategic thinkers make decisions based upon a harmonious blend of emotional and intellectual drives. Their passions incite them to act, and their minds guide them in navigating and making solid choices. Neither force overwhelms the other. They exist in peaceful synergy.

These Career Intense individuals are subject to the same emotional pressures that affect any of us facing significant change. What sets them apart is their ability to manage their emotions and make excellent decisions in times of intense pressure and challenge. How do they do it? Here is a series of steps you can take to manage your emotions and make wise decisions:

Disassociate. In making weighty decisions, you must be able to view the situation objectively, to pull yourself outside of the problem and see the facts of the matter for what they are. Surgeons, firefighters, and police officers are able to make quick, smart decisions under enormous pressure because they have mastered the ability to separate themselves from the emotion of the moment. Take a cool, calm, objective look at the situation. Pretend your best friend has come to you for advice on the matter. What would you suggest she do?

Define specific outcomes. Identify what your plan will accomplish. What is your ideal outcome? Is that outcome realistic or possible? Your emotions may suggest a certain course of action is most desirable, but that path may not make sense realistically.

Acknowledge your instincts. Tune in to your gut feeling about the issue. Going purely on instinct, list possible solutions. Seeing them all written down will help clarify the feasibility of each option.

Research the problem. Try to get to the heart of the matter and pinpoint what you want and how can you most efficiently get it. If you want a promotion at your current company, the most direct path to that goal involves doing excellent work, demonstrating your value, and asking for a promotion. If you want to increase your customer base, research the most effective ways of bringing in new customers.

Recognize patterns. What are the patterns that contribute to the problem? What are you doing that is keeping you from getting that promotion or pulling in more clients?

Generate alternatives. Imagine that you have recently interviewed for three different jobs and you now have three different job offers. You are going to feel much more in command of your decision making, much more capable of making a solid choice that is best for you, than if you have only one job offer. If you hate your current job and are desperate to find a new one, you’re probably going to jump on any opportunity that comes your way, driven by the negative emotions about your current job. Give yourself choices. Formulate a Plan B and a Plan C. When you’re backed into a corner, you’re much more likely to react emotionally than if you have a range of possibilities.

Assess risk. Now that you have a list of options before you, you need to take a good look at each one and decide how risky it is and how likely it is to result in negative consequences. Which one will most likely result in the optimum outcome?

Select a solution. Finally, you can make an informed decision about the best way to proceed.

Filed under: Personal Strategic Planning
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1. Career Intensity for Strategists

   Dave Lorenzo, author of Career Intensity, has several recent posts on his blog of the same name, that would be of interest to professional service firm strategists wanting to “up” their personal game. They include: Goal Framing Frame your…

   Trackback by Adventure of Strategy — June 7, 2006 @ 11:09

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