I recently dropped in on a former business associate. We had worked together many years earlier and I wanted to see the company he had just joined.

Knowing him as well as I did, I could tell something was bothering him. "Why the glum look?" I asked.

"I just got a fabulous proposal from a firm we’re considering using for an important project. My boss imposed a tight closing date on submitting the proposals, and the firm jumped through hoops to make the deadline," he said.

"Well, you should be happy that the proposal came out so well. When will you officially award them the work?" was my reply.

"That’s the point," he said, "Now our review and approval process begins. The boss will let it sit on his desk for a couple of weeks then, he’ll distribute it at a staff meeting, and ask for comments by the next meeting."

"What then?"

"Our staff meetings tend to be so sporadic that the next meeting may not occur for a month. Since I’m the contact person, the vendor will continue to call me, and I’ll end up sounding stupid, because after rushing them we won’t have a decision for months. They want a prompt response, or at least a time frame in which the decision will be made. I can’t even offer them a target date with any degree of confidence."

I asked, "Don’t you communicate with the boss regularly, even when there aren’t staff meetings?"

"Rarely. We set meetings, but he consistently cancels them or cuts them short due to ‘other priorities,’ which usually are things like late lunches that bump up against other ‘more important’ parts of his schedule. Sending the proposal to all staff members for comments to expedite the process doesn’t help, since they know the boss won’t react quickly, so why should they? Frankly, it’s very frustrating."

Our conversation continued along these lines for some time. Every suggestion I offered was countered with reasons why the review, approval, and communications processes among senior staff were stymied. The company was suffering from the Anguish of Indecision.

If my friend had had his way, things would have been different. He was, unfortunately, just a cog in the wheel. Today he no longer works there.

The anguish of indecision is a common malady in many organizations, even though few intend the review and approval process to be drawn out and cumbersome. It takes its toll on vendors, staff, and, worst of all, our customers. Yes, our inability to make a decision can affect our customer base, and we may not notice the problem until the customer takes his business elsewhere.

Vendors will eventually lose interest in trying to meet arbitrary deadlines from which no decisions follow. They may want our business, but the hassle required to get it may not be worth it.

Unfortunately, the anguish of indecision is a relatively common malady. It strikes organizations large and small and is contagious and can spread rapidly. Fortunately, it is usually not fatal, although it can take a concerted effort to cure it.

Treatments include methods that speed the approval process and enhance communications within the organization. These include:

• Provide workers with the authority to make decisions within prescribed limits, then get out of the way and let them do their job. Good employees want to be responsible and are willing to be accountable for their actions.
• Establish financial authorization criteria. Management at all levels should know their spending limits, the amount they can spend on their signature alone. They should also have a prescribed process by which approvals for additional amounts can be obtained in a timely manner.
• Staff meetings should be held regularly, and should do more than just reviewing and approving proposals. When committee input is required, criteria could be established in advance. One of the members should then be delegated the authority to make a decision consistent with the criteria.
• Staff meetings should be held consistently at the same time each week. Even if some of the committee members are away, the rest of the team should meet. The momentum and regularity of the meetings is important.
• One-on-one meetings with subordinates should also be held regularly, if possible at a set time and frequency. This should be used to give employees the opportunity to discuss important topics and receive decisions on matters for which there may not be time in ordinary daily communications.
• Managers should remember that the most important part of managing is to make decisions in a timely manner.
• Remember that vendors as well as staff want timely decisions. Most would prefer a decision sooner rather than later even if it is a negative decision, and a wrong decision rather than no decision. Poor decision-making can stagnate an organization. We have all seen it happen.

Studies have shown that when an established mechanism for prompt decision-making is in place, organizations benefit immensely, and avoid the anguish of indecision.

ã 2001 by Cinergetics, LLC. All rights reserved. Used by permission.