“Chronic indecision is not only inefficient and counterproductive, but it is deeply corrosive to morale.” ― Robert Iger
I was recently asked about political longevity and how one works to ensure a longer time in this life.
Good question and the simple answer is: be decisive when making important (most) decisions. Some explanation needed.
Decisionmakers can be divided into a few classes.
The first and most annoying class are the procrastinators. These people put off making the hard decision as long as they can. They bury their heads in the proverbial sand and allow time to wash over their indecision. Some actually hope and pray for an intervening act that will make their appointed postponement disappear. This never ends well, and don’t confuse this with the rule of don’t say no until you have to. The procrastinators are relied upon less and less and usually find that they run out of high-octane political consultants because nothing much is ever gained.
The second class in decisionmakers comes in the form of ruminators. This is a person that decides by committee, usually involving a meal or two, then a Socratic approach of many questions and hypotheticals. The person purportedly in charge holds court and presents the question of the day to his or her posse and they kick it around for weeks until the decision must be made. The drama usually comes with a penalty and the decision is sometimes too late to have any measurable impact. Another unintended and collateral impact is eventually your so called power gets diluted and the posse will start diverting questions and consults to the smartest insider at your table. Not hard to see the result.
The last approach is one I’m most comfortable with and that is deciding by gut instinct – with speed and political agility. The gut doesn’t mean you make an important decision without consultation or important information. To the contrary, it is important to have trusted colleagues that will help you think about all the angles regarding any weighty and consequential issue. But, at the end of the day, most of the decisions we make need to be guided and formed by instinct, almost like breathing, so they can be made fast, effectively, sometimes dispassionately.
This person is a natural leader and others, including other leaders, will gravitate toward them. These game time players rise to the highest level of the political class by being real decisionmakers. I believe that we are in this political world to make smart decisions, quickly and effectively, and move on to the next important decision and then the next.