4 kinds of decisions

4 kinds of decisions

you don’t realize you have a tough decision to make

you don’t know all your options

you don’t know what questions to ask

you know the questions but you don’t know who has the anwers

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Questions to ask for decision making

Step 1 is to realize that you have a decision. Step 2 calls for asking questions.

For example, if you are going to accept a job, you would ask these questions. You probably wouldn’t ask the hiring manager but you would need to find out:

Is this a newly created job?

If not, where is the previous incumbent? How many people held this job for how long? (If ten people held the job in two years, a red flag should be waving.)

What is the previous job holder doing now? (Ideally, they’re promoted within the same company)

Why are they hiring from outside instead of promoting from within?

Will my efforts contribute to the bottom line (ensuring job security)?

You probably won’t find these questions in job hunting manuals. They’re guerilla questions and you need answers. The idea is to look for clues that give answers to your real questions.

When I shopped for a mortgage, i should have asked (apart from rates):

Who will be my represenattive and advocate?

How many years of experience does this loan officer have?

How many loans closed on my type of property from this office? Did they close on time?

Can I talk to a reference who closed on a loan of this type? For example, if you are buying a condo, talk to another condo buyer.

What real estate agents are sending you mortgages? Can I call them? (And when you call: “How many times have you used this company?”)

Here’s a tip: Find someone who went through a similar experience and ask “What questions do you wish you had asked earlier?”

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Decisions

A lot of times we make decisions without realizing we need more information. For example:

The doctor says, “You need surgery.” You figure, “She’s the professional. Why should I argue?”

Your friend says, “I wouldn’t sell the house now. Rent it out.” In my experience, the more confident people are when they give advice, the less they know.

The scary part of living in today’s world is that we often come up against situations that we couldln’t possibly know about. For instance, if you’ve never been diagnosed with a certain condition, chances are you don’t realize you need to do some resaerch. To take another example, I was an experienced home buyer. I had had one mortgage and one cash sale. But when I went to buy a third home, I didn’t realize I needed to research mortgage options. I didn’t realize that the quality of the lender’s services was as important as the rate structur.

So I jumped in and went to the bank I’d been doing business with for years. My buyer’s agent said, “Banks can be slow,” but she didn’t say nearly enough. She didn’t warn me that bank loans can turn into nightmares. Mine did. I didn’t realize I needed to make a decision and research the information before jumping in.

The same thing happened earlier when I started my first online business. I didn’t research. I just hired a coach.

Criteria for recognizing that you are making a tough decision:

More than a certain dollar amount is involved. Set your own number. If you’re Bill Gates, it might be $100K or even a million.

Any aspect of health that has long-term, irreversible consequences: surgery, chemo, even dental work.

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Career planning: An Abusive Environment

Just saw a post along these lines on Facebook, with details disguised:

“Suppose you are in an abusive job environment and feel you can’t leave. What can you do in the meantime?”

This question is tough. Here’s what I would advise:

First talk to a mental health professional and/or coach. Build a strong support system so you can keep you inner equilibrium. You also need a reality check on the degree of abuse. If it’s really bad, you’re in a war zone and you may need to leave immediately, as if you had a family emergency. (You do!) Additionally, you need to work on your own personal growth support systems. It’s tempting to self-soothe with cake, cookies and even alcoholic beverages, but those choices just make you feel worse. You lose energy and feel even more frustrated or even depressed.

Caution: Be very careful when working witih anyone, whether health professional or coach. Be especially careful when anyone other than a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist suggests drugs such as anti-depressants. Even then, some mental health professionals say, get a second opinion. On the other hand, be wary of someone who dismisses your pain with, “All in your head” or suggests band-aid quickie solutions. I am not a medical practitioner or mental health professional, so I am just passing on what I’ve picked up by reading and conversations and what I would do myself.  Get advice from true experts.

Second, create a Plan B. What would you do if you were fired? Begin to execute that plan because you are, in effect, firing yourself. Additionally, it is not unusual for frustrated workers to find themselves sabotaging their own success. You make a really, really bad mistake. You arrive late to meetings (or skip them altogether). You say the wrong thing to a coworker and pay a heavy price.

Third, if you are developing your own business or practice, invest in good help to accelerate your growth. You don’t need to spend a fortune but a few calls  with a pro can save you months and weeks of time, not to mention the lost income.

To get started on career change:Your 21-Day Extreme Career Makeover

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Tough decision? Listen to your body.

I really liked this YouTube video by psychiatrist and healer Judith Orloff, MD. Listen here.

If your  body feels uncomfortable in a situation, says Orloff, you have to get out, no matter how attractive the financial compensation, perks and inducements.

It’s a little controversial. Feel free to share comments below – click on “Comments” to reply.

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Review: 12 Factors of Business Success

One of the book’s authors offered to send me a review copy. It’s always scary to review a book after making contact with the author. But I was pleasantly surprised. This book would be a best-seller with better packaging and stronger cover promotion.

The title is misleading. I’d have liked to see something like, “What Your Success Coach Won’t Tell You…About What Really Brings Success in Business and Life.” It’s really applicable to both careers and to business.

The authors boldly tackle tough career change and business questions. For example, which is more important: inspiration or perspiration? How do you know when to give up and when to persevere?

There are gems scattered throughout, such as, “Don’t confuse perfection with excellence” (p. 23).

I especially like the way the authors deal with visualization and affirmations. On page 82, they suggest turning affirmations into questions. I’ve never seen this idea and I like it.

I also liked the discussion of pessimism vs optimism (p. 112). So many coaches (at least in the earlier days of coaching) came down hard on pessimism. These authors emphasize that a healthy dash of cynicism can be healthy. They dismiss recommendations to, “Expect a miracle.”

The chapter on Success Mind actually introduces novel suggestions beyond the tired old “mindset” topics we’ve all read. I particularly like the way the authors advise us not to be held back by labels, especially one particular label: left vs right brain. We need both creative and critical thinking, they say.

Finally, I applaud the authors for coming right out to recognize wealth-building as an indicator of success. Too many how-to books tiptoe around this topic and some self-proclaimed experts advise us not to get too hung up on money…except to pay them, of course.

Definitely recommended. Buy it through Amazon.

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Mindless Job Activity Can Be Hazardous to Everything You Value

In the US News Blog On Careers, someone named “Andrew G.R.” wrote:

“…I can’t help but wonder if many jobs are designed to beat us all into idea submission. It just seems so much easier to show up, do what they want you to do, and go home. “

He’s got a point. Very few employers reward initiative or innovation. Schools tell us that creativity is a virtue but let’s face it: creativity is rarely rewarded in the marketplace.

It’s not that bosses are evil. It’s just that they want things their way. I have to admit I get irritated when my cleaning services gets creative and starts re-arranging my stuff. Sure I’m challenged in the decorating department, but hey…it’s my home, last time I checked.

But there’s another side to the question. Mindless activity can be hazardous to every aspect of your well-being.

When people get frustrated enough, they start to do really dumb things. They self-sabotage.

And when you get in the habit of just doing what you’re told, you’re at risk if ordered to do something dangerous or illegal. That’s what happened to some of the folks at Worldcomm, Abu-Ghraib and a host of other places.

“Doing what I was told” is not a defense. In courts of law and public opinion, you are expected to commit career suicide when faced with wrongful orders. At the very least, get those orders in writing and talk to someone who is licensed to advise you. I’m not.

Even if you’re not in legal jeopardy, you could still be embarrassed if you’re caught in a news story or have to explain to a future employer.

Fight the temptation to go on autopilot when you go to work. Imagine that Sixty Minutes showed up at your workplace and filmed what you were doing. Would you be tempted to hide? And stay marketable.

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Surprise: Meet Your New Job

Q. “I thought I did all my homework before taking this job – but everything has changed! I’m working 12-hour days to complete assignments they ‘forgot’ to tell me about. My customer list includes all the problems nobody else wants. What can I do? And what questions should I ask when I look for my next job?”

A. This question has come up a lot recently. Some suggestions:

(1) Before taking any action, try to find out what’s going on just by observing, listening and noticing your environment.

(2) Test the waters. If you feel comfortable, say something neutral like, “Based on our interview, I anticipated working on X and Y. I am happy to be working on Q and Z — new challenges!”

Then listen for the response.

Frankly, many managers walk around in a half-dazed state. They don’t even realize they changed your assignment.

Others will go into denial: “Change? Nothing’s changed! What are you talking about?”

Or a puzzled, “Yeah – I thought you’d really enjoy Q and Z – I did you a favor.”

Or (very rarely) “Yes – Hal had a heart attack and we had to switch everybody around.” “We just lost our biggest account and we’re all scrambling.”

(3) Explore opportunities elsewhere in the organization.

Maybe your department had a vacancy for a good reason: an impossible boss or ridiculous mission. Once you’re in the door, it’s often (but not always) easier to transfer than to get hired as an outsider.

Once you’ve concluded, “There’s no hope,” prepare to do even more homework for your next job. There’s no foolproof way to research an organization and anyone can be caught by surprise.

But you should be able to meet with at least 3 or 4 future coworkers, including some recent hires. Observe their work areas, body language and attitude.

And you can ask them some tough questions (worded more tactfully, of course):

“What was your biggest surprise about working for this company?” “What’s the best and worst part about working here?” “What changes have you observed in the last few months?” “What’s the average length of time most people have worked here?”

And although I avoid pollyanna-ish cheer, people tell me they do find silver linings. After serving a stint in the nightmare department, they find a welcome elsewhere. They discover hidden talents, pick up new skills and/or become more marketable.

It happens. Surprise works both ways.

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