CAREER ADVICE
Singapore - Delaying any part of the work process because a leader is indecisive or prone to procrastination because he or she can't cope during pressurising situations would result into organisation ineffectiveness.
Ken Hudson, author of "Speed Thinking - How to thrive in a time-poor world", says one of the frustrations people face at work is when a leader can't or won't make a decision. "They just procrastinate and overanalyse. It slows everything up," says Hudson. "If you have a competitor moving really quickly and you miss out on the business opportunities in the marketplace, you frustrate all the people internally."
There are a few common types of pressurising situations where business leaders would find themselves in, says Hudson. They include being required to give an immediate response in a meeting or quickly changing strategy to counteract an unexpected move from a competitor. But the key reasons to why people would procrastinate, says Hudson, is because "they don't know where or how to start". He adds, "They end up not making decisions because they keep analysing. They are fearful of making a mistake and being punished or because they haven't been taught the skills to make decisions."
Speed thinking would then resonate with employees, especially managers, because leaders are supposed to make snap business decisions at work. Learning how to speed think would help leaders give their intuition gained from past experiences some structure, explains Hudson. The emphasis is on "getting started", whether on a problem-solving or decision making process.
For example, writing a pros and cons list. Write down nine pros in the next two minutes, followed by listing down nine cons in another two minutes. Place the list side by side and evaluate which are the more beneficial of the two with a point system. Add one point if the pro is stronger than the con or a minus one if the con is outweighs the pro. If the two are equal, no points are added, says Hudson. After tabulating the scores, it's becomes clearer to make a decision.
The book "Speed Thinking - How to thrive in a time-poor world" would be available in stores within the month.
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