Decision-Making
“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets, and this is what you get.” – Matthew 7:12 – The Message
Sound decisions are anchored in core values, the deeply held beliefs or ideals that guide your thoughts and actions. When you make decisions congruent with your values, you feel satisfied; if incongruent with your values, you experience inner stress and conflict. If you know your values, you can make decisions on many fronts like how to live your life, where to work, whom to marry, and whether or not to compromise on an issue or make a change.
Do you know your values and how they affect your decisions? Think about it.
Do you know what you stand for? What you’d be willing to fight or even die for?
Let’s take a few minutes to define or confirm your personal values.
1. Peaks. Identify peak or high point experiences in your life where you were happiest, most satisfied, or fulfilled. What were the circumstances? Who was with you? What values were you exercising at the time?
2. Valleys. Identify valleys or low points in your life where you experienced inner stress or conflict. What were the circumstances? Who was with you? What values were you not exercising at the time?
3. Selection. Understanding the peaks and low points, select your top ten values from the list below, adapted and excerpted with permission from MindTools:
| Ambition Artistic Expression Assertiveness Authenticity Balance Belonging Celebrate Challenge Civility Clarity Collaboration Commitment Community Compassion Competency Competition Conformity Contribution Control Courage Creativity Dependability Development Discipline Dignity Diversity Efficiency Empathy Enthusiasm | Fitness Flexibility Freedom Friendship Fun Generosity Growth Happiness Health Humility Humor Independence Ingenuity Influence Integrity Intelligence Joy Justice Leadership Learning Leisure Location Love Loyalty Nature Obedience Order Organization | Positivity Power Preparedness Prestige Professionalism Quality Recognition Reliability Responsibility Restraint Results-oriented Security Self-Respect Service Simplicity Stability Strategic Status Strength Success Teamwork Tolerance Trustworthiness Tradition Understanding Unity Variety Vision |
4. Prioritize. When choosing among options, you’ll be able to know what values are most important to you.
5. Narrow. Whittle down your list. What are your top three or five values? Imagine someone in an elevator asked you what your values are. Could you rattle them off in thirty seconds? Knowing, understanding, and being able to articulate your values is invaluable as a leader.
6. Develop. Give your values a richer context. Describe what the value looks like in action. This will help you turn the values into guiding principles.
7. Examine. Are you living your core values and making decisions that are congruent with them? Rate each selected value from 1 to 10, where 10 is the value fully demonstrated in your decision-making process. Where are your lowest scores? What score would you like to achieve in the future? What action steps will you take to close the gap and elevate the score?
8. Share. Disclose your values with a trusted confidant and ask if they see your prioritized values demonstrated in your life and decision-making. Why, or why aren’t, they demonstrated? How will you adjust based on their feedback?
My top five values are love, integrity, trust, leadership, and excellence. When I’ve assumed new leadership positions, one of the first things I do is share my values and guiding principles, i.e., how my values look in action. I want to let people know where I stand, what I believe in, and what to expect from me. If my actions deviate from the list, I encourage the team to call me out.
My guiding principles are:
- Integrity – Walk the talk with transparency
- Trust – Confident expectation
- Leadership – Positively inspire and influence
- Excellence – Pursue distinction
- Humor – The shortest distance between two people
- Vision – Anticipate the future and go there
- Results – Measure progress toward goals
- Discipline – Bring order to chaos
- Development – Nurture and grow skills, abilities
- Collaborate – Develop cooperative solutions
- Celebrate – Publicly acknowledge successes
- Passion – Possess a burning desire to win
In sharing my values and guiding principles, people understand where I’m coming from, my decision-making motives, and actions. I modeled my approach after Jesus’. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:1 to 7:27), Jesus shared his core values and guiding principles with the listeners. He established what he stood for. To make his values and guiding principles easy to understand, he summarized them with this eternal truth: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12). If you value Jesus’s words, your values and guiding principles will reflect them. And you’ll make sound decisions that honor God and benefit you and others.
Consider
- Do you know your core values and guiding principles?
- What role do they play in your decision-making process?
- If you told someone your values, would they agree?
- Do they honor God?
Do you want to learn more? Visit my website, www.prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Pres
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They say that the more mistakes you make, the more successful you become. That might be true, but you must deal with your bad decisions effectively before you can move forward. There’s a process to making the most of your wrong choices.
If you can benefit from your right decisions and your wrong decisions, life is easy! Unfortunately, our natural instincts make it challenging to benefit from wrong choices. We become upset, distract ourselves, withdraw, feel embarrassed, or give up altogether.
When you can benefit from wrong decisions, there are no wrong decisions!
Consider these strategies:
- Learn the lesson. Every wrong decision has a lesson to teach. It can be painful to examine your wrong choices. Do you know what’s even more painful? Making the same mistake again. Take a little time to figure out what you can learn from your unwise decision.
- Move on. There’s nothing to be gained by dwelling on your mistakes. A wrong decision that you’ve never made before isn’t a bad thing. It’s just life.
- Take responsibility. You were part of the problem. There’s no getting around it. Taking responsibility allows you to retain control of the situation. You made the mess, so you can fix it.
- Talk it out. If you can’t let go of your mistake, spend some time talking with a loyal friend. An outsider often has a more reasonable perspective. Pick up the phone and give someone a call.
- Stay present. It’s easy to let your mind run wild after making a wrong choice. There’s nothing to see there. It’s hard to stay in the present moment when things are going wrong all around you. Allowing your mind to wander is just a form of distraction. Pay attention to what is happening right now.
- Take preventative measures in the future. How can you prevent a similar occurrence in the future? Did you put yourself into a situation where no good option existed? Or did you merely make the wrong call?
- Remember what you still have. You may have lost your business or partner, but that doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Take a moment to remind yourself of the wonderful things you still have.
- Forgive yourself. Everyone makes more than a few mistakes. Accept the consequences of your choice and move forward. It’s impossible to always make perfect decisions.
- Remember that your next right decision will feel that much better. A vacation only feels good because you contrast it with work. Spend six months in a Florida condo and see how excited you still are. Your bad decisions make your right decisions that much more enjoyable.
- You are not your decisions. You are separate from the choices you make. Bad choices don’t make you bad any more than good decisions make you good. Your decisions don’t define you.
Bad decisions aren’t all that bad after all. In fact, you can benefit from all your previous bad choices right now. Make a list of every wrong decision you’ve ever made. Now, go through the process of learning from each of them. What are the lessons you can learn? Imagine if you had done this same process after each mistake was made. Your life would be very different.
Everyone makes bad decisions. The key is to make the most of them. Spend a few minutes each week reviewing your bad choices and learning from them. Most importantly, avoid repeating them. Move on from your bad decisions and benefit from them.
*** Stop wasting time in the aftermath of bad choices when you can make decisions that deliver extraordinary results. Visit: https://prestonpoore.com, today!
Thanks and take care,
Preston Poore
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We can often trace the most significant challenges in our life to just a couple of wrong decisions. Effective decisions require clear thinking and accurate perceptions of the situation and how the world works. It’s easy to allow mental errors to lead to making the wrong choice.
It’s not always easy to make a wise decision, but there are things we can do to increase our odds.
Consider these mental errors that can degrade your ability to make a wise decision:
- Failing to consider the long-term implications. Short-term thinking can lead to long-term challenges. Many of us focus more on the short-term than the long-term when making decisions. We choose the yummiest food to eat or the most enjoyable way to spend the next hour.
- In most cases, we are better served by considering the long-term implications of our decisions.
- Survivorship bias. We often look at the most successful people as a template for success. We assume their way is the best. However, this fails to consider all the people that follow the same strategy but fail.
- For example, many successful people failed to graduate from high school, but it would be wrong to assume that education isn’t helpful to success.
- Many people have put in the same time and effort as LeBron James or Michael Jordan but failed to become professional basketball players. Perhaps there are other reasons for their success that you haven’t considered. A different approach might work better for you.
- Some of the most successful people in our society have been successful despite their process. It’s not always easy to identify when this occurs.
- Overemphasizing loss versus gain. Humans are naturally more sensitive to losing something they already have than motivated to gain the same item. For example, most of us are more bothered by the prospect of losing $100 than we are motivated to earn $100.
- This frequently happens in new businesses. A brand-new business is highly motivated to grow. However, once it reaches a specific size, the owner begins to worry more about protecting what the business has gained than developing further.
- Confirmation bias. We have a natural tendency to interpret facts and situations in a way that supports our current beliefs. For example, highly religious people tend to interpret all good fortune as proof of the presence of God.
- Those that believe that hard work is all that matters will ignore any other factors that contribute to success. They will also ignore the concepts of luck, talent, and mentorship.
- How are your current beliefs tainting your interpretation of your life and your environment?
- Fatigue, stress, and other forms of discomfort. You’ve probably made more than your fair share of ineffective decisions while being tired, overstressed, or physically or psychologically uncomfortable. Discomfort of any kind can negatively affect the decision-making process.
- Personalization. Sometimes, we take things too personally. We might believe that we didn’t get a promotion because the boss didn’t like us. But sometimes people make decisions that have nothing to do with us.
- Everyone has things going on in their life that we don’t know about. It’s a mistake to assume that everything is about you.
Fewer unwise decisions result in greater success and happiness. We create many of the challenges we face in life by making wrong decisions. Try to remove as many bad decisions from your future by understanding what leads to faulty decision-making. Make significant decisions and enjoy a great future!
Advice to Young Professional: Learning to make sound decisions is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make.
Do you want to quickly advance in your career? Make better decisions.
Learn how from my real-life experience and practical tools in the daily devotional, 21 Days to Sound Decision Making – How to Grow Your Credibility and Influence Through Making Better Decisions
- Click here to learn more: https://prestonpoore.com/21-days/
- Download the eBook on Amazon now: https://tinyurl.com/y4pdf6mj
It may be one of the most important decisions you ever make.
Thanks and take care,
Preston Poore
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Each decision you make reduces your ability to make good decisions. It can quickly reach the point that you’ll actually avoid making decisions once a certain threshold is reached. There are only so many good decisions you can make each day.
Decision fatigue also leads to impulse spending. Self-regulation also suffers during decision fatigue. There’s a reason you’re more likely to eat unhealthy food or do something else detrimental to your well-being at night.
Have you ever noticed that many influential and successful people tend to make inadequate decisions at night? These self-destructive decisions often come after a long day of making important decisions at work.
Use these strategies to avoid decision fatigue and make wise decisions:
- Make important decisions early in the day and during times of low stress. When you’re relaxed and in your safe space, you can kick back and make decisions without any pressure or distractions.
- Choose your clothes the night before. It’s mentally exhausting to search around for clothes that match when it’s time for work.
- You can also limit the scope of your wardrobe and achieve the same effect. Steve Jobs and Barack Obama were famous for their limited wardrobes. Both felt that the fewer decisions they had to make each day, the better.
- You can also limit the scope of your wardrobe and achieve the same effect. Steve Jobs and Barack Obama were famous for their limited wardrobes. Both felt that the fewer decisions they had to make each day, the better.
- Plan your day the night before. Then, you just need to put your head down and get to work. You’ve already made the basic choices of how you’re going to spend your day. All that’s left to do is perform the necessary actions.
- For example, know what you’re having for lunch, breakfast, and dinner before going to bed.
- What are the most important things you have to do tomorrow? When will you do them?
- This will leave you with a more exceptional ability to make good decisions the next day.
- For example, know what you’re having for lunch, breakfast, and dinner before going to bed.
- Keep your life simple. A complicated life is fatiguing. The fatigue extends to your ability to make decisions. Our brains weren’t designed to handle ongoing complexity. A simple life is easier on your mind and will allow you to make better decisions.
- Delegate decisions. Not all decisions have to be made by you. Let someone else pick the restaurant and the movie. Allow one of your employees to make the less-critical decisions. Let your kids decide what you’re going to do this weekend. Avoid decision fatigue by requiring others to make some decisions.
- Take a nap. A nap is a great way to rejuvenate your mental faculties. Sleeping for just 10-30 minutes will recharge your decision-making capacity. Make a daily nap part of your day, if possible.
- Know your priorities. When you know what is important to you, decisions become easier to make. Quick decisions don’t induce a lot of decision fatigue. You’ll avoid torturing yourself over all of your choices if you understand which decisions matter and which don’t.
The quality of your decisions influences the quality of your career, health, relationships, and overall success. Inadequate choices lead to personal challenges. These challenges include financial issues, work and school difficulties, health problems, and other personal and social issues.
Each decision you make has a biological cost. After making too many decisions, you’re more likely to argue with your partner, make unnecessary purchases, and eat junk food.
As your brain fatigues, it searches for shortcuts. One of these shortcuts is to make decisions quickly and recklessly. After all, thinking takes energy. The other alternative is to refuse to make a decision at all.
Decision fatigue is something everyone should be aware of. The consequences of inadequate decision-making can be severe.
Want to learn more about making sound decisions and becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Visit: https://prestonpoore.com
Thanks, and take care,
Preston Poore
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Don’t hire him. . .. He’s not a good fit. . .. If you do, it will be a mistake. . ..
I heard this from a couple of key leaders after calling seeking their advice.
He has the right experience and transferable skills. . .. With a bit of coaching, he’ll be great. . ..
This is what a trusted peer who highly recommended Steve told me.
A different set of opinions.
I didn’t have much time to decide. I was under the gun to hire an associate to work with our business partners. I needed to recruit, interview, and fill the open position within two weeks, or I’d lose the headcount. If I lost the headcount, the work and relationship management would fall on my plate.
I moved swiftly and selfishly to hire Steve. Why? I saw potential, or so I told myself. I heard what I wanted from the positive advice I received and ignored the other. Acting out of arrogance, I believed that I could single-handedly develop Steve’s analytical, relationship building and leadership skills.
Fast forward one year. . ..
Developing Steve took a lot of time and energy. Even though I had 10 other team members and was accountable for 18 markets, I spent 80% of my time with him and his specific market.
I didn’t want Steve to fail. I saw his success as my responsibility since I decided against others’ counsel. I wanted to prove that I could help Steve reach his potential.
While Steve was hired into a harsh work environment, and we believed he could breakthrough, he never gained traction with his assigned business partners or market. The business partners demanded more than Steve could deliver. When Steve stumbled, I had to compensate.
Over time, his business partners rejected him because of a perceived lack of credibility. Steve was no longer invited to meetings or trade rides, lost his ability to influence or add value.
I’d shared the business partners’ feedback with Steve along the way. Trying to support Steve, I continually spent time helping him solve problems and discuss his concerns. I always encouraged him. And I was always genuine with him.
We built a plan to improve his performance and connection with the business partner. But Steve didn’t follow through on the plan. He’d lost heart.
I finally realized that I couldn’t develop Steve as I thought. His skillset and motivational fit weren’t right for the role.
I made a mistake. . .. A change needed to happen for Steve’s benefit, my team, my company, our business partners, and the company. . .. And, for me.
I had another decision to make. . .. Do I place Steve on a formal Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and exit him from the company?. . ..
After consulting with my leadership and human resources, we placed Steve on a PIP. It was a tough decision but the right one.
Then, I prayed for Steve. . .. I prayed that he’d improve his performance or that God would provide for him if the PIP didn’t conclude with positive results. I also prayed for wisdom and a sensitive heart as I revealed the tough news to him.
I reached out to Steve to share our decision. As you can imagine, he wasn’t happy.
Steve said, “NO ONE else faced the challenging work environment and difficult business partners as I have.”
He demanded that I delay the PIP. . ..
I couldn’t. . .. I wouldn’t. . .. We’d put plans in place before, but he hadn’t acted on them. I listed several other performance-related issues and said no.
Frustrated, he said, “This is the first job I’ve had where if I didn’t get along with people, I could still do well at my job. I feel like such a failure.”
Steve was furious at first and then began to break down.
I was moved by Steve’s emotions. . .. I’d come to like Steve very much and knew he tried very hard. I wanted to encourage him amid another challenging circumstance yet be honest with him like I’d always been.
I told him, “Speaking from my heart, you are still valued and need to separate what is happening from who you are…It is up to you how to improve…90% don’t make it through the process, but others experience a career transformation.”
To make a long story short, Steve didn’t make it successfully through the PIP process and was about to be let go.
Then, something happened. . ..
A role opened up in another part of the company that better suited Steve’s skill set and was the perfect motivational fit. Typically, an associate wasn’t eligible to interview for other roles under a PIP. Because of the right job fit, my leadership, HR partner, and I extended grace to Steve and approved his interview. Showing dignity for Steve, we agreed that sometimes people are in the wrong role and want to do the right thing for him.
And guess what? . . .. He got the job!
What did I learn from my experience with Steve?
- Be an Unselective Listener: Even though I sought wise counsel from others, I selectively listened to what they said. I pieced together what I wanted to hear and rationalized my decision. Admittedly, I had my own agenda, was stubborn, and acted out of arrogance. The Bible says, “Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.” (Proverbs 12:15 – The Message). If I’d listened early on, Steve and I wouldn’t have suffered through the challenging circumstances. My advice: When seeking counsel, objectively listen to others and don’t filter your thoughts with pre-determined bias.
- Show Dignity and Respect for Others: During challenging circumstances with Steve, I always tried to encourage him, help him feel valued, and be genuine with him. The Bible says, “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. . .. (Matthew 7:12 – The Message). Helping Steve navigate through the circumstances, I consistently demonstrated respect and dignity for him. I remained professional. That’s the way I’d want to be treated. Wouldn’t about you?
- Pray Always: I didn’t pray about my decision to hire Steve and moved without consulting God. It became a mess. But I did pray amid the mess, and God was faithful. He helped Steve and provided a new opportunity. For Believers, we need to lift EVERYTHING in prayer, and it should become a lifestyle for us. The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV). Take every moment and opportunity to pray. Make it a continual conversation with God and a way of life. If you do, God will guide you, your decisions, and circumstances.
If you listen unselectively, show dignity and respect for others, and pray always, you’ll become a savvy decision-maker and leader.
Do you want to learn more about how to up your leadership skills? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
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Have you ever dealt with a head-scratching, complicated problem, and you weren’t sure how to solve it? I have… Here are my story and seven steps to solving unsolvable problems – if you follow them, you’ll gain credibility and increase your influence…
The anticipated announcement was made: The large beverage company I worked for agreed to purchase two competitive beverage companies. The incoming water and juice brands were fantastic and complementary acquisitions to our existing portfolio.
However, the acquisitions came with complications and created internal competition. Each acquired company had its own sales team and developed its business plan. My role was similar, focusing on my company’s legacy brands.
During my tenure, I’d established strong relationships with the bottler. However, my influence slowly eroded as the new sales teams began integrating. The new team members leveraged exciting incentives, expensive dinners, and premiums to woo the bottler. Excluding me, they tied up meeting times and market visits. Our mutual bottling partner became enamored with the shiny new penny and took their eyes off the ball.
Execution of all the legacy brands began to slip, and total sales stagnated. I discovered that the newly acquired companies only contributed 10% of the bottler’s total revenue; all of the legacy brands I represented contributed 90%. I determined that our problem boiled down to focus; we wouldn’t make our collective business plan if we didn’t re-calibrate our focus on the 90%. At the same time, we needed the newly acquired brands to flourish.
I began considering my alternatives. The only solution I could think of was to fight fire with fire. I’d need to double my efforts. Get back in the game with more attractive incentives, fancy dinners, and premiums to woo the bottler’s attention back. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this approach but believed there was a solution somewhere. I didn’t know where.
I was stuck…
I prayed to God and asked for wisdom to meet the challenge and identify a game-changing solution.
Then it happened… Inspiration hit…
I remember watching my all-time favorite movie, the 1959 Academy Award-winning Ben-Hur. There’s a scene when the movie’s main character, Judah Ben-Hur, observed a chariot race practice. The chariot was pulled by a team of four strong and fast horses. However, the chariot driver lost control of the horses as the team ran wildly down the track. Just before the chariot approached a curve, Ben-Hur commented that the chariot would never make the turn.
And he was right… The horses ran straight through the turn and off the track. When asked how he knew that the chariot would run off course, Ben-Hur told the owner he raced in the Roman circus. Based on his experience, he observed that the horses were strong and fast. Still, they weren’t positioned to leverage their individual strengths. They were running as individuals, not as one. Ben-Hur rearranged the horses with the slower, more steady horse on the inside to anchor the team during turns and the fastest horse on the outside. The owner said, “Show me.” Ben-Hur raced the chariot around the track in record time without incident to the owner’s amazement.
The parallel was striking to me. We have a strong team of people representing our brands to the bottler. I wondered, “What if we worked together and everyone achieved their goals? What if I harnessed the team, positioned them by strength, and we ran as one?”
Said another way, if you can’t beat them, join them.
After some internal alignment and planning, I invited 15 new brands and bottler representatives to a groundbreaking “Brand Partner Summit.” Our objective was to build trust, open lines of communication, initiate collaborative planning, enable dynamic execution, make the plan, and most of all, stem internal competition.
The meeting’s theme was “Running as One.” We began our time together horseback riding in the Smokey Mountains, a chance for everyone to connect outside the office and get acquainted. After the team-building exercise, we gathered for a Roles and Responsibilities dinner—all of the individuals shared how they added value to the company. The next day, I opened the Summit with the Ben-Hur chariot practice movie scene and asked the team to consider how we begin to run as one. Participants started making connections and collaboration recommendations as we reviewed each other’s business updates, priorities, and plans.
Ultimately, the Brand Partners concluded that our initiatives needed to be integrated into a comprehensive monthly Sales Plan. The Sales Plan captured and communicated all of the execution priorities allowing the Brand Partners and our bottling partner to be on the same page.
The Sales Plan solution mitigated internal competition, collaboration improved, execution excelled, and everyone hit their business plan. We ran as one. So much so that our Brand Partner Summit and Sales Plan were deemed a best practice and adopted by other parts of the company.
If you’re faced with a problem like I was, I recommend you follow my seven steps to solving challenging problems:
- Define the Problem. Articulate the problem in writing. Distill the problem into its simplest form. For my above example, the problem was focus. Identify the implications and consequences of not solving it. Also, ask repeatedly why? that is a problem. This will help identify root causes.
- Provide Context. What is the history of the challenge you’re trying to solve?
- Believe There is a Solution. Have the attitude that all problems are opportunities and can be addressed. Be creative, use your imagination, and brainstorm with others.
- Identify Alternatives. It’s always best to determine multiple solutions and evaluate which one will best solve the problem.
- Develop a Recommendation. Based on your alternative evaluation, allow the best one to surface.
- Plan and Act. Once the recommendation is made, put a plan in place and execute it.
- Pray. I highly recommend praying and seeking God’s wisdom when faced with problems or decision-making for the person of faith. The Bible says, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all”. (Proverbs 3:5-6 The Message)
The surest way to gain credibility and increase your influence is to solve problems. If you define the problem, provide context, believe there is a solution, identify alternatives, develop a recommendation, plan and act, and pray, you will become a leader who makes a positive difference.
Do you want to discover more about establishing credibility and gaining influence to make a positive difference? Please visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers!
Preston
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On a sunny Summer day near Branson, Arkansas, a group of folks embarked on a duck boat tour; 31 people in all. Little did they know the tragedy facing them as the amphibious vehicle entered Table Rock Lake.
Before the tour, Captain Scott looked at the weather forecast and noticed a severe thunderstorm warning. The warning didn’t deter him. He was an experienced captain and was confident that the tour could proceed as usual.
After the passengers embarked on Stretch Duck 7, Captain Scott shared brief safety instructions. He mentioned there were life jackets on board, but the passengers wouldn’t need them.
Then it hit. An intense thunderstorm seemed to come out of nowhere. The storm’s 75mph straight-line winds created four-foot waves. Captain Scott struggled to keep control of Stretch Duck 7. As part of standard operating procedures, he didn’t speed up the boat and try to make it to shore.
Water began swamping the boat. Trying to appear calm and confident, he told the passengers not to worry, that they wouldn’t need their life jackets, and stay seated.
Trusting Captain Scott’s words, none of the passengers put on the easily accessible life jackets. Then, the boat’s plastic curtains were lowered, blocking the exits for some reason. The passengers were trapped and couldn’t abandon the ship even if the order was given.
Stretch Duck 7 began to sink and quickly submerged, taking its passengers with it. Tragically, seventeen people drowned; nine members from one family perished in the accident. Fourteen people survived, including Captain Scott.
View accident video here: https://youtu.be/d5TCXz3taJk
For some reason, the Table Rock Lake tragedy captured my attention last Summer. I was curious about Captain Scott’s alleged negligence and inattention to duties. I began to wonder how I would act in a crisis? What leadership lessons can be learned by examining what not to do? Why did Captain Scott dismiss the warning signs? Why did he not direct the passengers to put on life jackets? Why didn’t Scott speed up the boat and head to shore? Why did he put the boat’s plastic curtains down, trapping the passengers even if an abandon ship order was given? Why did the passengers merely comply with the captain’s orders and not act?
I don’t know the answers to all of the above questions. The accident is still under investigation, and Captain Scott is awaiting trial on negligence and inattention to duties charges.
What I do know is that leadership has consequences, good or bad. The decision of Captain Scott resulted in lost lives and a sunken ship. So, what should you do when faced with a crisis and avoid Captain Scott’s mistakes. I discovered the following principles:
- Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. Optimism and confidence come from preparation. But if one fails to prepare, they prepare to fail. Ask what’s the worst thing that can happen before a crisis strikes, and do everything within your control to be ready for it. Captain Scott didn’t appear prepared for the emergency in front of him, or he had a false sense of confidence that he could navigate through the storm.
- Assess the situation. A leader’s job is to define reality. Ask what happened, what are the root causes, alternative solutions, and implications? Where do you want to be? Determine the facts and let them guide your decision-making. Captain Scott’s circumstances arose very quickly, and he exercised poor judgment.
- Act quickly but not carelessly. Once you define reality, act but don’t act in haste. Captain Scott acted negligently as he tried to maintain control of the ship. Had he chosen to accelerate toward the shore and ordered the passengers to put on their life jackets, the outcome may have been entirely different.
- Convey confidence. Leaders must respond in a crisis; people look to you for assurance and direction. You must remain calm and appear confident, so your followers will be confident as well. But like Captain Scott, appearing confident won’t help the situation if you don’t prepare for the worst, assess the situation and act wisely.
What does the tragedy at Table Rock Lake teach us? That leadership has consequences, good or bad. Our decisions and actions matter. I recommend that you take the time to think through how you’d handle a crisis – professionally or personally. Your mental preparation may make all the difference.
Want to discover how to become a leader others will gladly follow? Please visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
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Preston Poore
I’m a disciple of Christ and an executive at a Fortune 500 Company. In my blog, The Discipled Leader, I draw on my diverse business experience to help Christians connect their secular and spiritual lives at work.
As a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with the John Maxwell Team, I help others grow their relationship with Christ, develop their leadership skills, and understand how they can make a positive difference in today’s chaotic world.
Let me help you reach your potential.
I draw on my diverse business experience to help Christians connect their secular and spiritual lives at work. I invite you to subscribe to my blog and learn how to develop Christlike character, influence your culture and change your world.