March 4, 2025 • 22 mins
Could you be sabotaging your company's success with decision fatigue? Discover how this silent productivity killer might be draining your resources and leaving your business in the dust.
On today's Smart Business Growth Podcast, Nicky and Ness tackle the pressing issue of decision fatigue in leadership. We explore the heavy toll of constant decision-making on leaders, revealing how it can inflate costs, erode profits, and stunt sales. By navigating the chaos of busy traps and disordered work environments, we offer strategies to realign your business goals and sustain a vibrant work culture. Our discussion highlights the importance of staying focused to prevent burnout and avoid fostering a culture of dependency and micromanagement.
We promise you a roadmap to revitalised decision-making. Establishing a clear "True North" can transform your decision-making process by anchoring choices in your core business values and vision.
Learn how empowering your team to become decision-makers not only eases your burden but also nurtures their growth and sense of purpose. We delve into automating decision-making through strategic questioning, ensuring every decision resonates with your objectives.
This episode is packed with actionable insights to enhance your leadership approach and promote enduring business success. Listen in and arm yourself with the tools to overcome decision fatigue and lead your team with renewed clarity and confidence.
Learn more about Nicky and Ness https://businesstogether.com.au
Buy a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life www.healthyhustle.com.au
Follow us on socials
Instagram - @b2businesstogether
Facebook - @B2BusinessTogether
Connect on LinkedIn
Nicky LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/connectwithnicky/
Ness LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessamedling/
Give us a call
Nicky Miklos-Woodley 0403 191 404
Vanessa (Ness) Medling 0400 226 875
Or send us an email hello@businesstogether.com.au
Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nicky (00:04):
Welcome to the Smart Business Growth Podcast with
Nicky and Ness.
Ness (00:11):
We would like to acknowledge the traditional
custodians of country, theTurrbal and Bunurong people of
Brisbane and Melbournerespectively, where Nicky and I
both work and live, both workand live.
(00:32):
There's a really interestingstat that I came across.
There's McKinsey research whichfound executives spend between
40 to 70% of their time makingdecisions.
That seems about fair and itgot me thinking, particularly as
we start a new year around.
How can we, as leaders andbusiness owners, avoid getting
to this stage of decisionfatigue?
(00:52):
Decision fatigue seems to besomething that grows as the year
goes on.
So many people may have had abreak over Christmas, come back
feeling refreshed, but the morewe make decisions you know, up
to 70% of our time then thiscumulative effect of the
repetition of making decisionsand the exhaustive
decision-making ends up in whatwe call decision fatigue.
(01:15):
Now, why does this matter?
Well, decision Design Australiareleased a white paper in April
last year and they talked aboutthe fact that poor decisions
made by leaders lead to, in 58%of cases, increased business
costs, in 40% of cases, a lossin profit and, in 35% of cases,
(01:36):
a drop in sales.
I don't know about you, Nicky,but that blew my mind and
reading that and seeing theimpact that poor decision making
can have on a business.
We just have to be able to getthis right, and I think it's
such an important topic for usto start the conversation at
this time of the year in.
So I'm curious what was yourresponse and reaction to hearing
(02:00):
that?
Nicky (02:02):
Ouch, no, thank you.
I mean drop in sales, loss inprofit, increased business costs
.
We work so damn hard to growthe business, to grow profit.
You know to keep costs at aminimum to all of these things
and I think you know what'sinteresting about this is that
when we think about decisionfatigue, is it avoidable?
(02:25):
Is decision fatigue?
Ness (02:27):
avoidable?
I think it is definitely, but Ido also see how we get there.
What are the impacts and theflow-ons of having to make so
many decisions all the time ifwe don't have any kind of
guidance or compass or anythingin order to be able to help us
determine how to make a greatdecision?
You know, I certainly I don'tknow about you, but for me, if I
(02:50):
get to a point where I've gotway too many decisions to make,
guess what I do Bury my head inthe sand and completely avoid
making any decision whatsoever.
And I think that this whole ideaand concept of decision fatigue
can play out in a way thatobviously is going to impact the
business.
It's just when you see thosestats.
It kind of gives you that kindof kick in the gut that says,
(03:12):
geez, this is really important,it really matters.
What else do you notice?
You know the businesses that wework with and the leaders that
we work with.
What's the impact?
Probably not so much on thebusiness, because we kind of had
those stats.
But what are the other impactsaround this whole concept of
decision fatigue?
Nicky (03:29):
I mean, I think it's also to look at how do we get there
right, like we were sayingaround.
And so, therefore, the impacton the individual, because what
this screams at to me is busytrap, it screams to me, business
chaos, it screams to me jugglestraight, being all things to
all people, and when we're inthat state, then decision
(03:50):
fatigue is an unfortunateoutcome of that.
So, like you said, it could bethat some people, our innate
approach or reaction to this isavoidance.
I can't deal with it, I'll burymy head in the sand.
It can absolutely lead tooverwhelm.
So we still stay stuck.
Nothing moves forward.
And if we think about that, wehave goals we want to achieve,
(04:12):
we have outcomes that we'restriving for, we have a true
north that we want to movetowards, and so staying stuck
and staying in overwhelm doesn'thelp us progress and move
forward.
I think also, the other thingthat can happen here is that we
end up saying yes to too manythings, but yes to the wrong
thing.
We were having a conversationwith another leader yesterday
(04:33):
about this whole space that wecan play in, where it's yep,
that'll do, that'll do.
So the standards can drop toeither what we say yes to, to
the quality of our work, to whatwe're doing.
So, again, it can really impactus staying aligned to our
vision.
It can impact, you know, whenwe talk about in previous
episode 12th of January is whenyears resolutions tend to start
(04:55):
to break down.
You know, we don't we tend tohave that short term view of
things.
So it can really impact ourability to be able to achieve
the things that we really wantto achieve, that have meaning,
and instead we end up gettingstuck in chaos.
We're still on jungle streetand we're still in the busy trap
, and that can also lead, ofcourse, to burnout.
Or, of course, what we talkabout with entrepreneurial
(05:16):
addiction.
So what might seem like such as, yeah, decision fatigue, oh,
yeah, we joke about, I've gotdecision fatigue Actually
there's really serious impactsto business and to the
individuals within the business?
Ness (05:27):
Absolutely, and I also think about how this impacts on
your team.
So if, as a business owner, youdon't have the systems and the
processes set up, if you haven'tempowered your leaders or your
team to make their own decisionsand understand what a good
decision is and how to get there, then they're going to
(05:51):
continually come to you as theirleader, and you will then have
to not only come up with all thedecisions that you need to make
as an executive or a leader inthe business, but also be making
decisions on behalf of yourteam, who can't make decisions
for themselves and I thinkaround you know this is a trap
that we can fall into if we godown the deep, dark path of
micromanagement, because it justcontinues to put more and more
(06:14):
pressure on, so actually, yourteam.
They're just doers, they arejust doing the do, not making
decisions, which is putting evenmore pressure on you as a
leader to make more decisionsand therefore the quality of
your decision-making can suffer.
It's really, I mean, like Idon't want to be all doom and
gloom.
I think that there is abrilliant example of that comes
(06:38):
to mind from the Healthy Hustlebook is Michelle and Gregory.
Michelle and Douglas, michelleand Gregory, michelle and
Douglas.
I have married off to someonecompletely different, but
Michelle and Douglas theydecided a number of years ago
they had a growing business,they had a team and they had
four small children and theydecided they want to go and live
(07:00):
in Spain for a year.
So after going through thisprocess of working out well, we
have to explore this.
We can't let this opportunitypass.
But if there's a roadblock thatwe can't get through, then sure
, we won't go.
But as they uncovered andunpacked all of the things that
they thought could stop themfrom living overseas for a year
and running a business, whatthey discovered was everything
(07:22):
they were able to overcome.
They were able to find a waythrough.
So they spent time.
They made the decision and thenthey spent time preparing their
team and getting their teamready and helping their team
understand how to make adecision in the business without
them there, but helping thembuy into what mattered, how to
(07:44):
look at all the differentaspects that are important in
their business.
And I remember Michelle talkingabout telling her team you can't
break the business, and thatjust was really.
I guess it's quite enlighteningto think about.
Sometimes we don't want othersto make decisions because we
(08:05):
worry that they're going to doit wrong.
They're going to make a mistake, it's going to have a big
impact but, as she said, ifsomebody makes a decision and it
breaks the business, we've gotbigger problems to be dealing
with here.
So she empowered her team herand Douglas empowered their team
to say make the best decisionyou know how to make and we'll
evaluate that afterwards.
(08:26):
So setting your team up tosucceed is really about helping
them step into a position wherethey don't need to necessarily
rely on you.
Now, that's not to say thatthey didn't touch base with the
business whilst they were awayoverseas, but, as one thing she
pointed out was because of thetime difference, often a problem
that was sent through oremailed or text through in the
(08:48):
working day here was nighttimethere and by the time they got
to it, it had been resolved orthe decision had been made.
So I think there's something wecan take away from that in
thinking in relation to if weare making a lot of decisions,
how are we setting our team upto support us to do that in a
way that's going to help thebusiness succeed?
So there you go.
(09:09):
We have light and dark.
Yes, and I think that you knowif we are to look at breaking
down how to avoid decisionfatigue.
I want to share with ourlisteners and our viewers today
what those probably the topthree things are.
What are the three things thatyou can do to help get out of
this trap?
Because we don't want increasedbusiness costs, a loss in
(09:32):
profit and a drop in sales.
So, Nicky, what would you say?
The number one thing that wewould recommend would be how do
I choose between our top three?
Nicky (09:42):
I think they're all well.
Ness (09:44):
Okay, let me, let me, it's like children.
Nicky (09:46):
It is like children, the place to start, because it is
the anchor, it is what we callthe true north is to make sure
that you've got some clarity ofdirection, that you've got some
planning that has been put inplace, and we talked about this
a little bit in last week'sepisode as well.
So your plan on a page we callit a plan on a page it's part of
a whole True North frameworkand it's called the True North
(10:13):
framework for a reason becauseit is literally the anchor to
come back to.
When we're clear on what isimportant, we know what to
prioritize and then it's easierto say yes or no to things.
And that's going to help withthis decision fatigue.
Regardless of if you're thebusiness owner, a leader or a
team member, everybody needs tobe clear on what the true north
is, what the outcome is, wherewe're all going.
(10:34):
And so, again, not to go intodetail, but make sure you set
what that is, that the teamknows what that is and you are
checking in with it monthly,weekly and quarterly.
So that was an odd order weekly, monthly and quarterly.
True North.
You've got to have what yourclarity of direction and what's
important.
That would be number one.
Ness (10:53):
Yep, I'd have to agree with that, because if we're
clear on the vision of wherewe're going in the business and
we're clear on our values andyou know, making sure that the
culture is aligned to what wewant it to be, then all
decisions need to be filteredthrough that.
And if that isn't clear, thenobviously decisions are being
(11:14):
made aligned to what you know.
You'd have to ask how poor?
How are poor decisions madewhen you don't have that true
north?
Nicky (11:24):
to come back to yeah, because you can make a decision,
but we don't know the qualityof the decision or the impact of
making that decision.
Ness (11:31):
Yeah so yeah.
Have you heard?
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(11:53):
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Nicky (12:00):
So number two really aligns with what you were
talking about around delegatingor turning doers into decision
makers.
So we talk about this, as youmight have a team of amazing
people in the business.
They're doing a great job.
It's almost transactionalthough, like they're literally
doing the work but they're notnecessarily making decisions,
(12:21):
they're not empowered to makedecisions.
That then take some of the loadoff you or some of the load off
other leaders, and also itempowers them.
There's a sense of purpose inthat.
They're more likely to feelwell, they're likely to learn,
to grow, just like in Michelleand Douglas's case and they will
get to learn themselves.
So there's an empowermentaround that.
So we want to delegate so thatyou can turn your doers into
(12:46):
decision makers, and there's alot of benefits to that.
But I'm going to shorten thatthere, because the next step,
the top three, the third pointis going to help you that Ness
will share, because I'm going tothrow this one to you.
Point three is going to helphow you can turn your doers into
decision makers.
Ness (13:03):
Absolutely so.
I love that they link so all ofthem link so closely together.
This one's about automatingyour decision making, and that
is through asking high qualityquestions.
So often we look at how can weset a structure up in order to
set our team up to succeed whenthey take action.
Now, if we have adecision-making process within
(13:25):
the business or for ourselves,where we get to ask ourselves a
number of questions and thenhave that time to sit and do the
thinking around, what impactdoes making this decision have?
If we are making decisions onthe fly, it's going to be much
harder to be able to identifyany problems that come as a
(13:46):
result of that.
And I think that you know,obviously, there's a different
layer of decisions that we make.
I mean some decisions aroundwhat am I going to wear to this
meeting, or you know what I'mgoing to have for lunch?
Pretty low quality decisionspotentially, but this is more
around.
You know, those things that youcould have fatigue on.
So how can we make it easierfor you?
(14:07):
And the three that we use in ourbusiness are not necessarily
going to be working in everysingle business, although I'd be
surprised if some of thesequestions don't resonate for
everyone.
But this is where we go to Now.
We have three questions.
The first one is is this takingme closer to my goal?
So, if we have to make adecision about doing something
(14:28):
or not doing something, this iswhere we come back to that true
north.
We need to know what our goalsare.
We need to know what our visionis.
So are we moving closer towardsthat or further away from that
by saying yes to this?
The second one is If I say yesto this, am I going to be able
to keep my hustle healthy?
(14:48):
Because you know we are allabout healthy hustle, not
hustling for the sake of justhustling.
So we need to consider whatimpact is this going to have on
me being able to be my best self?
Is it going to mean that I'mgoing to have to work longer
hours?
Am I going to have to work onweekends?
Is it going to mean that I haveto compromise some of my
boundaries?
(15:08):
And you really have to ask thequestion.
If the answer is yes to all ofthat, is it worth it?
Now, sometimes we might sayshort-term pain for long-term
gain, but really we need to beconsciously aware of what choice
we're making and what impact ithas, not just on us but on our
teams and on our families.
And then the third question inour decision-making triage, I
(15:32):
guess it is is do I feel goodabout doing this?
Because if it's something thatyou're saying yes to and I can
think about a scenario with aclient where they want new
business they bring a clientinto their business and they
know from the get-go that thisclient's going to be trouble,
and yet they move ahead with itanyway because they're looking
(15:55):
at something different.
So am I going to feel goodabout this?
Oh, I don't know that I canwork with that person.
Their values don't align.
I get the ick whenever I speakto them, but I'm going to go
ahead and do it anyway because Ithink it'll get me.
Money is not necessarily goingto be a decision that's going to
be helpful.
So I think this one you've gotto be a little bit careful on,
(16:15):
because we can't just feel goodall the time about the things
that we do.
Sometimes we have to do thingsthat are a stretch and can feel
uncomfortable.
But I think for me personally,what this comes back to is does
it feel good or do I feel gooddoing this?
Is it aligned to my values.
That's sort of where I go to.
What about you, Nicky?
Nicky (16:37):
That's what I'm thinking as you're saying this, because,
you know, nothing has meaningbut the meaning that we give it,
and so you know it might be,particularly if there's a team.
The questions might differslightly, but maybe the do I
feel good about this could be isit a values fit, you know, or
getting really clear on valuesfit is good because it's
decision making triage for avariety of different decisions,
(16:58):
but something in there around agood fit, because, even if we
talk about the hypothetical,that is absolutely a real
scenario for so many people, andI had a coaching session on
this just earlier today aroundthe type of clients that we work
with.
So let's just say we're wantingto grow our business.
New client comes in.
Is it taking me closer to mygoal, my revenue, whatever that
(17:19):
might be?
And, by the way, when you'redoing this, don't say my goal,
put in what your goal is, soit's really meaningful for you.
So is it taking me closer tosay, a revenue goal?
Well, yeah, a new client wouldbe, but then it might be that
there's a no.
For is this helping me keep thehustle healthy?
That actually might be a no,because you already know that
they're going to take up a lotof your time outside of business
(17:40):
hours, or it's a totally newsegment or industry that you're
going to have to put a lot ofwork into.
Do I feel good about this, ordoes it align with values?
That might then be a no.
So you might get the idea.
The formula here is if you getthree yeses, then it's a heck
yes, let's do it full steam,ahead you go.
If it's two yeses, then youneed to dig a little bit deeper
(18:02):
around this, and if it's one yes, then it's actually a no.
So in that hypothetical examplethat many people can relate to,
it might be that it's takingyou closer to your revenue goal,
but it's not helping you keepthe hustle healthy and it
doesn't feel good, or it's notaligned with values, and so you
can see then already it'shelping you make the decision
easier.
But again, you can tailor thesequestions based on what is right
(18:26):
for you as a business owner, asa leader, and then you might
come up with some questions withor for your team, and they
might vary a little bit, becausecertainly you don't want your
team to be like does this feelgood for me?
They're going to use that as areally good excuse to get off
the hook for a lot of things.
I'm sure Not all team members,but I'm sure there's a lot out
there that would leaders as well.
(18:46):
So yeah, I think you've got togo in with eyes wide open and
kind of just really think whatare my non-negotiables and what
are the business non-negotiables, what did work and what didn't
work last year?
So how do we createdecision-making questions around
that?
Ness (19:00):
Absolutely, and I think those decision-making questions,
you know, one of the things Iremember learning I think it was
a Tony Robbins thing was aboutthe quality of your questions
will determine the quality hewas talking about of your life
but effectively, of yourbusiness as well.
So, when it comes toidentifying the questions that
are going to help you to be ableto move away from decision
(19:22):
fatigue, so that you know thatyou've done all the pre-thinking
it's kind of like that BarackObama and Steve Jobs wearing the
same outfit every single day,so they don't have to make a
decision about what am I goingto wear today.
If the pre-thinking is done now, then you are setting yourself
up for the year.
That's not to say that you knowyou might tweak the questions
(19:44):
as the year goes on, but atleast you have a starting point.
Give it a try.
Just to reiterate that the keythings that are going to set you
up for success is, first of all, your true north.
Know your plan, have referenceto your vision and what your
goals are, at least for the nextquarter, when you're making
(20:04):
decisions.
The second thing is aboutmoving your team from doers to
decision makers.
So how can we set up processesand structures so that they can
make decisions and feelempowered, just like Michelle
and Douglas' team did, whichgave them a holiday overseas for
a year.
So, why not?
And then, of course, the thirdis to automate it.
Get your decision makingquestions really clear, and you
(20:26):
can borrow ours until you findones that fit yours.
And get started with that andyou know, see what impact that's
having, because this matterstoo much for you just to ignore
it and bury your head in thesand.
So, on that note, Nicky,actionable action.
What's something someone can doin the next 24 hours to be able
to apply what we've talkedabout today?
Nicky (20:48):
It has to be.
Come up with your threequestions for your
decision-making triage.
Just get started, pop some down.
And what we've done is likeI've got ours on a post-it note,
I stick it on my computer, putit somewhere visual.
It doesn't have to be perfect,you can change it, but really
get clear, start to get clearand just write something down
(21:08):
with your triangle, your threekey questions.
Remember if there's three yeses, it's a hell yes, let's do it.
If there's two, maybe dig a bitdeeper and delve.
If it's only one yes, it's a noway.
Ness (21:20):
Amazing.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for listening andwatching again and we will be
back in your listening ears nextweek.
See you later.
See you later again and we willbe back in your listening ears
next week.
See you later.
Thanks for listening to today'sep.
If you loved what you heard,connect with us over on LinkedIn
and let's continue theconversation over there.
Did you hear you can now buyour book Healthy Hustle the new
(21:40):
blueprint to thrive in businessand life at healthyhustlecomau.
Want us to speak to your teamor run a workshop on healthy
hustle in your workplace?
Send us an email or go oldschool and give us a call to
discuss.
Until next time, happylistening and here's to thriving
in business and life.
Welcome to the Smart Business Growth Podcast with
Nicky and Ness.
Ness (00:11):
We would like to acknowledge the traditional
custodians of country, theTurrbal and Bunurong people of
Brisbane and Melbournerespectively, where Nicky and I
both work and live, both workand live.
(00:32):
There's a really interestingstat that I came across.
There's McKinsey research whichfound executives spend between
40 to 70% of their time makingdecisions.
That seems about fair and itgot me thinking, particularly as
we start a new year around.
How can we, as leaders andbusiness owners, avoid getting
to this stage of decisionfatigue?
(00:52):
Decision fatigue seems to besomething that grows as the year
goes on.
So many people may have had abreak over Christmas, come back
feeling refreshed, but the morewe make decisions you know, up
to 70% of our time then thiscumulative effect of the
repetition of making decisionsand the exhaustive
decision-making ends up in whatwe call decision fatigue.
(01:15):
Now, why does this matter?
Well, decision Design Australiareleased a white paper in April
last year and they talked aboutthe fact that poor decisions
made by leaders lead to, in 58%of cases, increased business
costs, in 40% of cases, a lossin profit and, in 35% of cases,
(01:36):
a drop in sales.
I don't know about you, Nicky,but that blew my mind and
reading that and seeing theimpact that poor decision making
can have on a business.
We just have to be able to getthis right, and I think it's
such an important topic for usto start the conversation at
this time of the year in.
So I'm curious what was yourresponse and reaction to hearing
(02:00):
that?
Nicky (02:02):
Ouch, no, thank you.
I mean drop in sales, loss inprofit, increased business costs
.
We work so damn hard to growthe business, to grow profit.
You know to keep costs at aminimum to all of these things
and I think you know what'sinteresting about this is that
when we think about decisionfatigue, is it avoidable?
(02:25):
Is decision fatigue?
Ness (02:27):
avoidable?
I think it is definitely, but Ido also see how we get there.
What are the impacts and theflow-ons of having to make so
many decisions all the time ifwe don't have any kind of
guidance or compass or anythingin order to be able to help us
determine how to make a greatdecision?
You know, I certainly I don'tknow about you, but for me, if I
(02:50):
get to a point where I've gotway too many decisions to make,
guess what I do Bury my head inthe sand and completely avoid
making any decision whatsoever.
And I think that this whole ideaand concept of decision fatigue
can play out in a way thatobviously is going to impact the
business.
It's just when you see thosestats.
It kind of gives you that kindof kick in the gut that says,
(03:12):
geez, this is really important,it really matters.
What else do you notice?
You know the businesses that wework with and the leaders that
we work with.
What's the impact?
Probably not so much on thebusiness, because we kind of had
those stats.
But what are the other impactsaround this whole concept of
decision fatigue?
Nicky (03:29):
I mean, I think it's also to look at how do we get there
right, like we were sayingaround.
And so, therefore, the impacton the individual, because what
this screams at to me is busytrap, it screams to me, business
chaos, it screams to me jugglestraight, being all things to
all people, and when we're inthat state, then decision
(03:50):
fatigue is an unfortunateoutcome of that.
So, like you said, it could bethat some people, our innate
approach or reaction to this isavoidance.
I can't deal with it, I'll burymy head in the sand.
It can absolutely lead tooverwhelm.
So we still stay stuck.
Nothing moves forward.
And if we think about that, wehave goals we want to achieve,
(04:12):
we have outcomes that we'restriving for, we have a true
north that we want to movetowards, and so staying stuck
and staying in overwhelm doesn'thelp us progress and move
forward.
I think also, the other thingthat can happen here is that we
end up saying yes to too manythings, but yes to the wrong
thing.
We were having a conversationwith another leader yesterday
(04:33):
about this whole space that wecan play in, where it's yep,
that'll do, that'll do.
So the standards can drop toeither what we say yes to, to
the quality of our work, to whatwe're doing.
So, again, it can really impactus staying aligned to our
vision.
It can impact, you know, whenwe talk about in previous
episode 12th of January is whenyears resolutions tend to start
(04:55):
to break down.
You know, we don't we tend tohave that short term view of
things.
So it can really impact ourability to be able to achieve
the things that we really wantto achieve, that have meaning,
and instead we end up gettingstuck in chaos.
We're still on jungle streetand we're still in the busy trap
, and that can also lead, ofcourse, to burnout.
Or, of course, what we talkabout with entrepreneurial
(05:16):
addiction.
So what might seem like such as, yeah, decision fatigue, oh,
yeah, we joke about, I've gotdecision fatigue Actually
there's really serious impactsto business and to the
individuals within the business?
Ness (05:27):
Absolutely, and I also think about how this impacts on
your team.
So if, as a business owner, youdon't have the systems and the
processes set up, if you haven'tempowered your leaders or your
team to make their own decisionsand understand what a good
decision is and how to get there, then they're going to
(05:51):
continually come to you as theirleader, and you will then have
to not only come up with all thedecisions that you need to make
as an executive or a leader inthe business, but also be making
decisions on behalf of yourteam, who can't make decisions
for themselves and I thinkaround you know this is a trap
that we can fall into if we godown the deep, dark path of
micromanagement, because it justcontinues to put more and more
(06:14):
pressure on, so actually, yourteam.
They're just doers, they arejust doing the do, not making
decisions, which is putting evenmore pressure on you as a
leader to make more decisionsand therefore the quality of
your decision-making can suffer.
It's really, I mean, like Idon't want to be all doom and
gloom.
I think that there is abrilliant example of that comes
(06:38):
to mind from the Healthy Hustlebook is Michelle and Gregory.
Michelle and Douglas, michelleand Gregory, michelle and
Douglas.
I have married off to someonecompletely different, but
Michelle and Douglas theydecided a number of years ago
they had a growing business,they had a team and they had
four small children and theydecided they want to go and live
(07:00):
in Spain for a year.
So after going through thisprocess of working out well, we
have to explore this.
We can't let this opportunitypass.
But if there's a roadblock thatwe can't get through, then sure
, we won't go.
But as they uncovered andunpacked all of the things that
they thought could stop themfrom living overseas for a year
and running a business, whatthey discovered was everything
(07:22):
they were able to overcome.
They were able to find a waythrough.
So they spent time.
They made the decision and thenthey spent time preparing their
team and getting their teamready and helping their team
understand how to make adecision in the business without
them there, but helping thembuy into what mattered, how to
(07:44):
look at all the differentaspects that are important in
their business.
And I remember Michelle talkingabout telling her team you can't
break the business, and thatjust was really.
I guess it's quite enlighteningto think about.
Sometimes we don't want othersto make decisions because we
(08:05):
worry that they're going to doit wrong.
They're going to make a mistake, it's going to have a big
impact but, as she said, ifsomebody makes a decision and it
breaks the business, we've gotbigger problems to be dealing
with here.
So she empowered her team herand Douglas empowered their team
to say make the best decisionyou know how to make and we'll
evaluate that afterwards.
(08:26):
So setting your team up tosucceed is really about helping
them step into a position wherethey don't need to necessarily
rely on you.
Now, that's not to say thatthey didn't touch base with the
business whilst they were awayoverseas, but, as one thing she
pointed out was because of thetime difference, often a problem
that was sent through oremailed or text through in the
(08:48):
working day here was nighttimethere and by the time they got
to it, it had been resolved orthe decision had been made.
So I think there's something wecan take away from that in
thinking in relation to if weare making a lot of decisions,
how are we setting our team upto support us to do that in a
way that's going to help thebusiness succeed?
So there you go.
(09:09):
We have light and dark.
Yes, and I think that you knowif we are to look at breaking
down how to avoid decisionfatigue.
I want to share with ourlisteners and our viewers today
what those probably the topthree things are.
What are the three things thatyou can do to help get out of
this trap?
Because we don't want increasedbusiness costs, a loss in
(09:32):
profit and a drop in sales.
So, Nicky, what would you say?
The number one thing that wewould recommend would be how do
I choose between our top three?
Nicky (09:42):
I think they're all well.
Ness (09:44):
Okay, let me, let me, it's like children.
Nicky (09:46):
It is like children, the place to start, because it is
the anchor, it is what we callthe true north is to make sure
that you've got some clarity ofdirection, that you've got some
planning that has been put inplace, and we talked about this
a little bit in last week'sepisode as well.
So your plan on a page we callit a plan on a page it's part of
a whole True North frameworkand it's called the True North
(10:13):
framework for a reason becauseit is literally the anchor to
come back to.
When we're clear on what isimportant, we know what to
prioritize and then it's easierto say yes or no to things.
And that's going to help withthis decision fatigue.
Regardless of if you're thebusiness owner, a leader or a
team member, everybody needs tobe clear on what the true north
is, what the outcome is, wherewe're all going.
(10:34):
And so, again, not to go intodetail, but make sure you set
what that is, that the teamknows what that is and you are
checking in with it monthly,weekly and quarterly.
So that was an odd order weekly, monthly and quarterly.
True North.
You've got to have what yourclarity of direction and what's
important.
That would be number one.
Ness (10:53):
Yep, I'd have to agree with that, because if we're
clear on the vision of wherewe're going in the business and
we're clear on our values andyou know, making sure that the
culture is aligned to what wewant it to be, then all
decisions need to be filteredthrough that.
And if that isn't clear, thenobviously decisions are being
(11:14):
made aligned to what you know.
You'd have to ask how poor?
How are poor decisions madewhen you don't have that true
north?
Nicky (11:24):
to come back to yeah, because you can make a decision,
but we don't know the qualityof the decision or the impact of
making that decision.
Ness (11:31):
Yeah so yeah.
Have you heard?
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(11:53):
incredible business results.
Order your copy now athealthyhustlecomau.
Nicky (12:00):
So number two really aligns with what you were
talking about around delegatingor turning doers into decision
makers.
So we talk about this, as youmight have a team of amazing
people in the business.
They're doing a great job.
It's almost transactionalthough, like they're literally
doing the work but they're notnecessarily making decisions,
(12:21):
they're not empowered to makedecisions.
That then take some of the loadoff you or some of the load off
other leaders, and also itempowers them.
There's a sense of purpose inthat.
They're more likely to feelwell, they're likely to learn,
to grow, just like in Michelleand Douglas's case and they will
get to learn themselves.
So there's an empowermentaround that.
So we want to delegate so thatyou can turn your doers into
(12:46):
decision makers, and there's alot of benefits to that.
But I'm going to shorten thatthere, because the next step,
the top three, the third pointis going to help you that Ness
will share, because I'm going tothrow this one to you.
Point three is going to helphow you can turn your doers into
decision makers.
Ness (13:03):
Absolutely so.
I love that they link so all ofthem link so closely together.
This one's about automatingyour decision making, and that
is through asking high qualityquestions.
So often we look at how can weset a structure up in order to
set our team up to succeed whenthey take action.
Now, if we have adecision-making process within
(13:25):
the business or for ourselves,where we get to ask ourselves a
number of questions and thenhave that time to sit and do the
thinking around, what impactdoes making this decision have?
If we are making decisions onthe fly, it's going to be much
harder to be able to identifyany problems that come as a
(13:46):
result of that.
And I think that you know,obviously, there's a different
layer of decisions that we make.
I mean some decisions aroundwhat am I going to wear to this
meeting, or you know what I'mgoing to have for lunch?
Pretty low quality decisionspotentially, but this is more
around.
You know, those things that youcould have fatigue on.
So how can we make it easierfor you?
(14:07):
And the three that we use in ourbusiness are not necessarily
going to be working in everysingle business, although I'd be
surprised if some of thesequestions don't resonate for
everyone.
But this is where we go to Now.
We have three questions.
The first one is is this takingme closer to my goal?
So, if we have to make adecision about doing something
(14:28):
or not doing something, this iswhere we come back to that true
north.
We need to know what our goalsare.
We need to know what our visionis.
So are we moving closer towardsthat or further away from that
by saying yes to this?
The second one is If I say yesto this, am I going to be able
to keep my hustle healthy?
(14:48):
Because you know we are allabout healthy hustle, not
hustling for the sake of justhustling.
So we need to consider whatimpact is this going to have on
me being able to be my best self?
Is it going to mean that I'mgoing to have to work longer
hours?
Am I going to have to work onweekends?
Is it going to mean that I haveto compromise some of my
boundaries?
(15:08):
And you really have to ask thequestion.
If the answer is yes to all ofthat, is it worth it?
Now, sometimes we might sayshort-term pain for long-term
gain, but really we need to beconsciously aware of what choice
we're making and what impact ithas, not just on us but on our
teams and on our families.
And then the third question inour decision-making triage, I
(15:32):
guess it is is do I feel goodabout doing this?
Because if it's something thatyou're saying yes to and I can
think about a scenario with aclient where they want new
business they bring a clientinto their business and they
know from the get-go that thisclient's going to be trouble,
and yet they move ahead with itanyway because they're looking
(15:55):
at something different.
So am I going to feel goodabout this?
Oh, I don't know that I canwork with that person.
Their values don't align.
I get the ick whenever I speakto them, but I'm going to go
ahead and do it anyway because Ithink it'll get me.
Money is not necessarily goingto be a decision that's going to
be helpful.
So I think this one you've gotto be a little bit careful on,
(16:15):
because we can't just feel goodall the time about the things
that we do.
Sometimes we have to do thingsthat are a stretch and can feel
uncomfortable.
But I think for me personally,what this comes back to is does
it feel good or do I feel gooddoing this?
Is it aligned to my values.
That's sort of where I go to.
What about you, Nicky?
Nicky (16:37):
That's what I'm thinking as you're saying this, because,
you know, nothing has meaningbut the meaning that we give it,
and so you know it might be,particularly if there's a team.
The questions might differslightly, but maybe the do I
feel good about this could be isit a values fit, you know, or
getting really clear on valuesfit is good because it's
decision making triage for avariety of different decisions,
(16:58):
but something in there around agood fit, because, even if we
talk about the hypothetical,that is absolutely a real
scenario for so many people, andI had a coaching session on
this just earlier today aroundthe type of clients that we work
with.
So let's just say we're wantingto grow our business.
New client comes in.
Is it taking me closer to mygoal, my revenue, whatever that
(17:19):
might be?
And, by the way, when you'redoing this, don't say my goal,
put in what your goal is, soit's really meaningful for you.
So is it taking me closer tosay, a revenue goal?
Well, yeah, a new client wouldbe, but then it might be that
there's a no.
For is this helping me keep thehustle healthy?
That actually might be a no,because you already know that
they're going to take up a lotof your time outside of business
(17:40):
hours, or it's a totally newsegment or industry that you're
going to have to put a lot ofwork into.
Do I feel good about this, ordoes it align with values?
That might then be a no.
So you might get the idea.
The formula here is if you getthree yeses, then it's a heck
yes, let's do it full steam,ahead you go.
If it's two yeses, then youneed to dig a little bit deeper
(18:02):
around this, and if it's one yes, then it's actually a no.
So in that hypothetical examplethat many people can relate to,
it might be that it's takingyou closer to your revenue goal,
but it's not helping you keepthe hustle healthy and it
doesn't feel good, or it's notaligned with values, and so you
can see then already it'shelping you make the decision
easier.
But again, you can tailor thesequestions based on what is right
(18:26):
for you as a business owner, asa leader, and then you might
come up with some questions withor for your team, and they
might vary a little bit, becausecertainly you don't want your
team to be like does this feelgood for me?
They're going to use that as areally good excuse to get off
the hook for a lot of things.
I'm sure Not all team members,but I'm sure there's a lot out
there that would leaders as well.
(18:46):
So yeah, I think you've got togo in with eyes wide open and
kind of just really think whatare my non-negotiables and what
are the business non-negotiables, what did work and what didn't
work last year?
So how do we createdecision-making questions around
that?
Ness (19:00):
Absolutely, and I think those decision-making questions,
you know, one of the things Iremember learning I think it was
a Tony Robbins thing was aboutthe quality of your questions
will determine the quality hewas talking about of your life
but effectively, of yourbusiness as well.
So, when it comes toidentifying the questions that
are going to help you to be ableto move away from decision
(19:22):
fatigue, so that you know thatyou've done all the pre-thinking
it's kind of like that BarackObama and Steve Jobs wearing the
same outfit every single day,so they don't have to make a
decision about what am I goingto wear today.
If the pre-thinking is done now, then you are setting yourself
up for the year.
That's not to say that you knowyou might tweak the questions
(19:44):
as the year goes on, but atleast you have a starting point.
Give it a try.
Just to reiterate that the keythings that are going to set you
up for success is, first of all, your true north.
Know your plan, have referenceto your vision and what your
goals are, at least for the nextquarter, when you're making
(20:04):
decisions.
The second thing is aboutmoving your team from doers to
decision makers.
So how can we set up processesand structures so that they can
make decisions and feelempowered, just like Michelle
and Douglas' team did, whichgave them a holiday overseas for
a year.
So, why not?
And then, of course, the thirdis to automate it.
Get your decision makingquestions really clear, and you
(20:26):
can borrow ours until you findones that fit yours.
And get started with that andyou know, see what impact that's
having, because this matterstoo much for you just to ignore
it and bury your head in thesand.
So, on that note, Nicky,actionable action.
What's something someone can doin the next 24 hours to be able
to apply what we've talkedabout today?
Nicky (20:48):
It has to be.
Come up with your threequestions for your
decision-making triage.
Just get started, pop some down.
And what we've done is likeI've got ours on a post-it note,
I stick it on my computer, putit somewhere visual.
It doesn't have to be perfect,you can change it, but really
get clear, start to get clearand just write something down
(21:08):
with your triangle, your threekey questions.
Remember if there's three yeses, it's a hell yes, let's do it.
If there's two, maybe dig a bitdeeper and delve.
If it's only one yes, it's a noway.
Ness (21:20):
Amazing.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for listening andwatching again and we will be
back in your listening ears nextweek.
See you later.
See you later again and we willbe back in your listening ears
next week.
See you later.
Thanks for listening to today'sep.
If you loved what you heard,connect with us over on LinkedIn
and let's continue theconversation over there.
Did you hear you can now buyour book Healthy Hustle the new
(21:40):
blueprint to thrive in businessand life at healthyhustlecomau.
Want us to speak to your teamor run a workshop on healthy
hustle in your workplace?
Send us an email or go oldschool and give us a call to
discuss.
Until next time, happylistening and here's to thriving
in business and life.
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