Making the right decisions

This article is written at the time of a global pandemic but ‘it’ will not be mentioned again. I also promise not to use the aggravating term ‘new normal’. We are focusing on the positives and acknowledging change happens while being fully respectful of the delicate situation we’re in and of course saddened by the loss of others from recent events.  As B2B marketeers and BDs, we want to help those on the journey of restructuring or repositioning, as like any business, there are tough times and times the ship feels fairly steady. In the life span of a business, there are places you have to turn, times for reflection, time to go back a step or take a big leap forward. These things can cause nauseating doubt for a business owner, lead to sleepless nights and sometimes thoroughly questioning whether the next step is the right one.

Depending on mood or mindset and the size of the necessary change, some will see it from a worst-case point of view but what’s most productive is to objectively analyse the situation and think about the view from your client or end-user. What’s most important is business survival. 

There are a few options on how to analyse the change you are going to make – you could make a decision matrix, list pros and cons, do a SWOT analysis, consult with your board or peers, or do what I do most of the time; rationalise it when explaining it (in my head) to the most critical or negative person you know; what would you say and how would you say it? Ask yourself; what are the alternatives and consequences? Is your assessment thorough? Do you need to gather evidence? Do you need a test audience/test scenario? What/who will be impacted? Can we carry on if we don’t make a change? 

Decision-making is reacting using learned behaviour. I read an article about the neuroscience behind decision-making and the research concluded that there are two hardwired processes for decision-making, one is pattern recognition and the other emotional tagging – in short (you probably guessed) pattern recognition is making assumptions based on previous experiences or ‘patterns’ using 30 different parts of the brain and emotional tagging is where emotional information attaches itself to thoughts and experiences stored in our memories. Why is this helpful? This insight tells us that our judgement is swayed and by trying to be as objective as we can, seeing the decision from different points of view, will hopefully bring us to the right decision.

Once you have chosen the route you are going to take – write down the script. Answer in note form; what are you doing, why are you doing it and what will be the positive and negative implications. This will form the start of your stakeholder communication. Remember stakeholders are clients, staff and investors. More than ever, clear and precise communication is key. Examples of decisions currently taking place – shutting or reducing your physical office, changing sectors you are working in, restructuring your team – all three are tragically happening across all sectors globally, and the method of delivering news is sensitive. Methods of communications include; email, posted letter, emailed letter, social media post, LinkedIn post, website announcement, phone call, text/Whatsapp, video call or Slack/Microsoft Teams message. Faxes are definitely over these days, right? You need to keep on message but tailor to suit the right audience. More on this in my next article and if you would like to hear more from me, get in touch via the Contact button.