#4 - What successful business owners know about decision-making

Life and business are made of choices.

And the truth is that there’s no “right” or “wrong” choices.

Last week, during a session with a client who is expanding his business to multiple industries, we spotted that one of the factors that allowed him to be so successful at such a young age was his decision making abilities.

Looking to dig deeper into the matter, I asked him: “How do you know what is a good decision?”

“As long as you decide, it’s a good decision. You move forward and deal with the consequences of that. As long as you decide, there’s no bad decision. Focus on the future, celebrate results or learn from that.”

It was very clear that his success in business was due to his ability to decide fast, focus on action and move forward. He doesn’t dwell on things. He isn’t afraid of making mistakes. His only focus is “keep moving forward, deal with whatever comes”.

But I also noticed something else.

He seems to be very aware of what he is saying no to, when he says yes to something.

He says “no” to stagnation, he says “no” to overthinking, he says “no” to the fear of making mistakes. He says “no” to ignoring the responsibilities of his choices, so he decides to active learn from it.

(PS: You might think that he’s the kind of person who is always working non-stop and completely ignoring his personal life - if so, be ready to be surprised - Every year, he takes 2 months off from work - completely disconnected from his businesses while everything keeps running smoothly).

I’ve learn through my years working with business owners that the business is the reflection of its leader.

If you keep experiencing certain challenges in your business over and over, it’s not the business who has a problem, it’s you who need to gain more perspective.

Everything that happens inside a business is a result from decisions (or not decisions) that someone makes, and how they guide (or don’t guide) others to make decisions in the business with autonomy.

The decisions you make - or don’t - are a result from your perspective, of your current ability to see.

“If you say yes to this, what are you saying no to?”

How does this question help you?

1. It helps you to make better decisions by gaining perspective about what you’re really committing to and what you’re denying or avoiding to deal with.

2. It helps you keep aligned with your priorities and what really matters for your business moving forward.

3. It helps you to teach others in your business how to make decisions aligned with your vision.

Let’s discover your answer by breaking down the question:

Part 1: Saying yes.

Saying yes doesn’t mean necessarily that you’ve agreed or decided to something.

A yes is also hidden in when you avoid dealing with a certain matter, when you ignore a situation or when you silence about something.

Part 2: Saying no to.

Life is made of contrasts, and it’s impossible you will have it all.

You can’t have something cold and warm, dark and light, full and empty. Because one aspect automatically excludes the other.

Observing that is easy.

But it seems that we’re not naturally wired to notice what we’re really choosing when it comes to more subjective matters.

Instead of going down the rabbit hole of philosophy here, let’s look at some real life examples in business I see happening all the time:

6 Examples:

1. If you say yes to not narrowing down or refining your target customers, you are saying no to having a group of people who deeply care about your brand.

2. If you say yes to every client request that doesn’t fit your processes, you’re saying no to keep up with your efficiency and standards to serve outstandingly the clients who want to work within your systems.

3. If you say yes to constantly undercutting your prices to beat the competition, you are saying no to positioning your brand as a premium option that provides exceptional value and service.

4. If you say yes to making all the final decisions in your company you’re saying no to the ability of your company run without you.

5. If you say yes to only prioritizing marketing actions focused on instant sales results (hello Ads) over building long-term value, you are saying no to building a sustainable business that lasts despite economic downturns.

6. If you’re saying yes to covering a certain behaviour of one of your employees that doesn’t align with your company values, you’re saying no to your team’s trust in your internal guidelines.

7. Once I worked with a CEO that avoided being actively part of brand and marketing strategic decisions, so he could focus mostly on the product side. At the same time he was always complaining that the strategy wasn’t aligned with what he expected. He didn’t realized that when he said yes to focus mainly on the product, he was saying no to align the brand strategy with his vision.

Now, it’s your turn…

Action step

👉 Set aside 20 min to work on your version of this prompt to get the clarity you need to set your business for authentic growth.

It would be relatively easy if I asked you to write down the things you’re deciding by saying yes to them, and what that means you’re saying “no” to. - And I definitely think you should do this exercise.

But today I want to challenge you a little bit further.

Now, I want you to write down what you’re not deciding, what are you ignoring, or silencing to, in your business (or even in your personal life).

And reflect on what does that mean you are saying no to?

“If you’re silencing to this, what are you saying no to?”

Changing how you see your business changes everything.

Warmly,

Nathalia Montenegro

P.S : Ready to find out exactly what you need to do next to grow your business?

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