Comments on: Stop Overthinking Small Decisions

By: Sandra Guerra

Sandra Guerra — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 20:26:56 +0000

We bootstrapped an app for small businesses to plan, track & store all their advertising visually and simply. We used the word DELETE instead of the circle with an X symbol. I knew I needed to change it but I agonized for months about spending the money since we are non-technical founders. One day I woke up and knew that today was the day I was going to mark-up all the changes. I did so until I was bleary-eyed. Then, I heard a voice in my head that told me—very strongly—to go around the corner and go have lunch. As I walked around the corner, I looked up to admire the day. This is what I saw. It’s true. You get what you focus on. Make a decision and move on or else the universe mocks you. You can check out all our delete symbols at PlanHappy.com

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3473938cb6cd59b41164368a0cd74cc4e5d8232bad822418b4aeeda959f052b7.png

By: Julio Bitencourt

Julio Bitencourt — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 20:11:18 +0000

I can’t say that this blog post changed my life, but it changed my day (or week). Thanks!

By: Andre Van Kets

Andre Van Kets — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 12:59:50 +0000

Love it. My trello board has dozens of these decisions – been floating there for weeks. Time to make those decitions. And. Move. On.

By: Regie Bariuan

Regie Bariuan — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 08:27:03 +0000

Love this! It’s perfect timing that I read this today. I am overwhelmed with a lot of options right now and I just need to just focus on one and see how it goes! Action over analysis!

By: Roger Lightfoot

Roger Lightfoot — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 09:10:02 +0000

Alex – Couldn’t agree more.

And taking tough (possibly unpopular) decisions is important too. I wrote a short blog article about this and my worries of firing somebody just 4 days into a new role.

It’s here – http://get.fabmin.com/blog/eating-frogs/

By: Andrew Askins

Andrew Askins — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 21:27:15 +0000

Needed to hear this today! We need to remember decisions aren’t final, and we don’t really know what’s best until we act. I advise my clients of this all the time, but it’s hard to do for my own business.

By: Kenny Jahng

Kenny Jahng — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 21:16:43 +0000

Loved this post.

Progress incorporate a bias for action.
Entrepreneurship is the process of letting go.
Death comes from paralysis by analysis.

By: Mohammed Mazhar

Mohammed Mazhar — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 16:22:08 +0000

True Alex, most of things like domain and logos etc doesn’t really matter as we might think..but we often spend most of the time on deciding which one to select etc. I learned it hard way though.

By: Paul Zengilowski

Paul Zengilowski — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 16:03:18 +0000

Alex, thank you for this post which I found very useful. It’s a direct analogue to an “adjacent” problem with decisions – rethinking ones that have already been made. In both startups and mature businesses, as new people come onto the team, one of the first things I’ve observed people do (and have been guilty of myself) is to rethink existing practices and policies. In and of itself this kind of thinking is exceedingly valuable and reinforces the wisdom of bringing on talented people whose intellectual curiosity and experience move the company forward. There is a “dark side” to this however that has a couple of components;

First sometimes people focus on things that are as you describe, “small decisions” that don’t in and of themselves merit further thought and therefore become the distraction that slows everyone down.

Second, some are big decisions that have been well-thought out and for which there is ample reason and precedent for having made them. Absent some fundamental shift in capabilities, business conditions, staffing changes, etc. rethinking these kinds of decisions also impedes progress and velocity and can be as big or bigger a distraction than small decisions.

Again, thanks for this and many other posts I’ve found useful.