This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at La soledad del directivo de la pyme ante la toma de decisiones

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Very often we forget the basics

The loneliness of the directors of SMEs to decision-making

José Antonio Gómez Vadillo, director of the Group Vadillo advisers29/06/2010

June 29, 2010

In our business, when we remove the diver, leave the workshop and we get the tie, occurs in us a mutation that often bother us, because our business is the workshop. But as he plays also run the business, we are at it. In this mutation, in addition to get the external sign of the tie, we must change our mental structure and we have to start to 'decide'.

Decide is to choose between several alternatives with a view to achieve a goal.

And here's the key. The quality of our decisions, will depend on the efficiency and effectiveness of our Organization.

Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to take the manual on how is the decision making process, to consider us.

I have a practice, which I do every day, when I finish the day and I'm going to House, which is stopping me to review the activity of the day. 99% Of the days, I hardly remember what they've done, by the large number of activities developed. And I am pleased, because if that happens it is a source of that work a lot and so intense.

But, one day I stopped to better classify my activities and I realized is that there are two major distinctions:

The management of what is urgent.
And decision making.

Analyzing the workload of these two distinctions, I noticed that more than 90% of my daily activity is to manage what is urgent. And only 10%, in the best of cases, is to decide. From this point, in my role of directing, I've noticed is that I have a large area of improvement. Learn to make decisions, to gain some ground to the management of what is urgent.

Deciding is one of the main responsibilities of an officer of the Organization, which often have to take it in conditions of uncertainty, risk and solitude.

To this end, taking the manual of making decisions, I was Recalling that:

Decide is to choose between several alternatives with a view to achieve a goal. Therefore, the characteristics of the decision is the objective sought, on the basis of criteria or clear policies, and generate and choose among the alternatives that we generate, not first thing that comes to mind. Decide, is very distant to do the first happens to me.
Decide is one of the main responsibilities as an Executive. Liability which sometimes has to be taken in solitude, in uncertainty. So it became aware that for daring to decide, didn't have to be afraid to risk, nor to be wrong.

Let us not forget that the decision-making process has a lot of learning and experience

Likewise, with the manual, I've noticed has that very often adopted different behaviors in the decision-making process, so I can be:

An ostrich, which hides the head when there is a problem, and hopes that this will be resolved only.
A chicken without a head, making 'decisions' by intuition, continuously and at the time, and even contradictory.
A lion, because I decide since the authority of the head.
And very poorly as an OWL, deciding with sufficient information and time.

Following, the review of the manual, I sought what explanation has to take disparate behaviors in one action as specified and deciding, the answer is that I am a human being that prejudice, and according to the situations, my interpretations are differentthe perspective that I give to the issue depends on if I more or less pleasant, and because I have the feeling that I need time. In other words, I have to learn to manage the barriers to making a good decision, perceptions, perspective and the rush.

Once the review of the theory, which is very convenient to do so from time to time, we must move to practice to improve my skills in decision-making, and to this end, I have created a rule mnemonic, which is to assimilate the decision-making to the safety of a car.

To be able to decide better, are required:

Active security mechanisms, to avoid a bad decision, as the ABS of our car, which in our case is to have some adequate sources of information, know what data to use and with whom we can shape the decision.
Passive safety mechanisms, to minimize the damage in the event of a misguided decision, recognizing the mistake quickly, not looking for culprits, but generating a new alternative.

Let us not forget that the decision-making process has a lot of learning and experience.