Talent Trade Tidbit - Grape In The Middle

Stephanie helps you overcome "analysis paralysis" with advice from, among other things, the timeless wisdom of Karate Kid...

Discover what sets ThinkingAhead apart, hear stories from recruiters, and browse opportunities by clicking here.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hi, this is Stephanie Maas.

(00:02):
Today I want to talk to you about a really great way to make a decision.
The biggest challenges that we are seeing in the hiring market today, there's actually quite a few challenges.
One of the biggest ones is what I'll call analysis paralysis.
Everybody is so afraid of making the wrong decision.
They make no decision, which is a hundred percent of the time, the wrong decision.

(00:27):
So let me walk you through a couple of ways to make sure that you can make a good decision, regardless of what the actual decision is.
Recently, I was in a quandary about making a decision and candidly, it was driving me nuts.
I really couldn't decide, do I go this way?
Do I go that way?

(00:47):
But as long as I was in that process.
Honestly, I was a little nutty.
And then I remembered some sage wisdom from Mr.
Miyagi in the Karate Kit, and it helped put things in perspective.
Here was his advice.
Grape, left side of the road, okay.
Grape, right side of the road, okay.

(01:08):
Grape in the middle, okay.
Squish.
As long as I stayed indecisive, it was making me that.
I needed to make a decision and move on.
The reality is, most of us are not making life and death decisions every day.
We're just not.
And as long as we stay in that middle of the road, we're miserable.
And usually we make those around us miserable.

(01:29):
So my first piece of counsel is go with your gut.
Most people in hindsight say, ah, if I had just gone with my gut, that would have been the right thing.
That's what you need to do.
Do a gut check right after an interview.
Is this feel right?
Now I'm not saying that means that's your decision, but then what you do is you follow up.

(01:51):
Every conversation, every interview after that, looking for evidence to either support your decision or your gut instinct or to make it contrary to that.
So go with your gut.
Second thing is you've got to take the pressure off.
I know we all have P& Ls and budgets that we are responsible for and it makes it very difficult.

(02:13):
But here's the bottom line, right or wrong, honestly, you'll never know.
But what you do is you make a decision and then you make it right.