What a life hack from Tim Ferriss can teach us about simplifying decision making in teams …
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Transcript
Tim Ferris who hosts one of the world's largest podcasts likes to say
Speaker:that he tries to make one decision that removes a thousand decisions.
Speaker:And it's easy to see why.
Speaker:For example, rather than to struggle each time you're standing in front
Speaker:of the candy aisle, it's much easier to decide that candy just isn't for
Speaker:you and skip the aisle altogether.
Speaker:Or that you only buy this chocolate brand or use that phone brand.
Speaker:Of course, for you it might be a totally different decision, but
Speaker:Ferris's point still holds true: Making a thousand decisions is actually
Speaker:exhausting even if they are small.
Speaker:So, whenever you can find a general rule for your actions, life gets
Speaker:a lot easier in that regard.
Speaker:But here's another perspective on that, because I think that what Tim
Speaker:Ferris uses as a life hack works even better for teams in a company.
Speaker:It can be super frustrating and totally exhausting when every decision
Speaker:escalates into a discussion about tiny details and different perspectives.
Speaker:When you as the leader become the bottleneck to level the ground
Speaker:and finally make the decision.
Speaker:Aligning your team and focusing everyone on a common mission takes this load off
Speaker:of yourself and of the team and makes life so much easier for everyone on the team.
Speaker:But it does more than that.
Speaker:If everyone agrees on a guiding star, the path you want to take together as a team,
Speaker:decision-making can become distributed.
Speaker:When it's obvious how a decision is made because it fits on the
Speaker:path that everyone has agreed to take and to walk on, everyone on
Speaker:the team can make that decision.
Speaker:What's required for that is to get clarity about that path, about what actually
Speaker:matters to us as a team and as a company.
Speaker:And then for you as a leader to communicate this openly and frequently.