Making Decisions on Emotions

Going with your gut may not always be the best approach.  Do you find that you tend to take the easy way out when it comes to important business decisions, and make snap judgments that don’t often turn out very well?  Why does that happen?  Well, you may be under stress.  Or you don’t have time to think it through.  Or, it’s just easier.  Or the “best” decision may seem too hard.

We all make decisions based on right brain/left brain processes, or in other words, emotional or rational thinking.  For some, rational thinking wins out over emotions, and for others, emotional thinking carries the day.  Neither is necessarily right or wrong.  In business, however, we often make decision based on negative emotions, such as fear, dread, anger, or unpleasantness, among others.  Take hiring, for instance.  We fear making a bad choice, or we find the interviewing process unpleasant, so we either put off hiring someone who could make our life easier, or we hire quickly to get it over with so we can get on with more pleasant tasks.  Ever had those emotions?  How has that worked out for you?

On the other hand allowing our left brain to kick in for a bit and help us think through the options, the strategy, and the calculations pertinent to the decision can make our choices more successful.  I find that this happens all the time when it comes to price increases.  We typically fear the impact of a price increase, thinking we will lose customers and endure complaints.  But when we calculate the impact of the increase, the small odds of losing customers, and calmly think through how we will communicate the increase and reinforce our value, it makes it feasible, and successful.

Stress often causes an emotional decision that doesn’t consider all the facts.  Sometimes we cause our own stress just by being the boss.  We think we are expected to have all the answers, so there is stress that we will look weak if we don’t make a decision.  In reality, we look weak because of a bad decision, not because we made an emotional, and perhaps too quick decision.  And had we allowed our rational left brain to kick in, we may have realized that our employees could have figured it out on their own if we had let them.

I’m not advocating we all turn into super-rational beings like Star Trek’s Mr. Spock.  But I am suggesting that you increase your awareness of the impact your emotions make on how you run your business.  And if you find it hard to recognize the best way for you to make decisions, consider having a conversation with a business coach who can help you address the options and consequences of various decisions before they are made.