Kevin Makes a Decision

​There are worse and better decisions - but one has to be made to keep a project going forward.

Kevin sits at an open door and stares out at the backyard.  The temperature has dropped to bloody cold and he is unsure if his paws deserve the uncomfortable chill in lieu of exploring inside the confines of his fence.

​Finally, he turns around and walks back inside to his chair.  He made his decision.  His time on the fence will have to wait until a warmer day.  Did he make the right decision?  That depends on what his objective was.  If his goal was to see if the Black Squirrel of Evil was unexpectedly flattened in the alley, then no, he did not succeed.  If he wanted to take a temperature reading, then his efforts were successful.  In either scenario, Kevin acted upon an action - a decision.

​A simple decision can move a project forward or multiple steps backwards.  Many criteria, and factors influence the decision making process - thousands of books, blogs, and short films can be found on the subject.  Decision by committee, decision by authority, decision by environmental elements, decision by dictatorship, and on and on.  In life and with projects, decisions are powerful and need to have accountability.  This is where the project decision making will make it's giant leaps - backwards or forwards.  If decisions are being made by the team and backed by the team when things get tough, there can still be a positive outcome.  If decisions are being made in isolation from the team, without input and not enforced, this creates imbalance and project disaster.

​Fear of making a decision, because it may not be a good one, immobilizes individuals from career satisfaction or advancement.  On a project, no decision is worse than a bad one.  Stagnating the deliverable process is not good for the team or the client.  The wrong decision can lead to disagreements, but it will reveal what the better decision can be.  Experiencing fear about making a decision indicates that you care about the outcome.  This is good.  You care about your work.  Fear is accountability.  You understand and take ownership of the decision and proudly take full responsibility good or bad like a real person.  You don't cowardly blame others - you can insinuate that your decision making criteria may have been influenced by others comments, but the responsibility for the decision is yours.
The more experience you have decision making, the less fear as you can anticipate the plausible outcomes.  When you no longer have fear of your decisions, you have reached I.D.G.A.S. (I-don't-give-a...) level of enlightenment and should start looking for a holiday or new job.
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​Unless it is only a discussion, each project meeting, big or small needs decisions to be made.  This is how projects get completed.  A project efficiency factor is how long it takes to make those decisions. 

​Kevin in now sitting on his fence.   He next decision will be to jump back into his own yard or explore that of the neighbours to observe the colour of their grass.  That is a topic for another time - is the grass really greener?