Insights to the tough choices and hard decisions

I just finished reading The Book of Hard Choices, and appreciated the many examples of the tough decisions in business. We can probably all relate to the tough decisions that keep us awake at night.


Autry talked about the four types of clients:

1) Reasonable and fair clients

2) Unpredictable and troublesome clients

3) Difficult and Demanding clients

4) Bullies


We have all probably dealt with several types of these clients. Autry discusses the challenging dilemma of dealing with these situations involving the more difficult clients, while maintaining your integrity and self respect.


He also talks about the importance of never being driven by fear in terms of making important decisions and to remember the long term impact of what we say and what we do.


I very much enjoyed the author's comments about living in the "learning zone" instead of the comfort zone. This was an insight that I think is most important for business. Complacency can smother a team's morale, productivity and success.


Autry's comments that life experiences and how you cope, shape you are is so true. It also provides hope that we can change the outcomes of situations by how we respond, and who we are being in those moments.

Finally, his examples of ensuring ground rules before agreeing to confidentiality were so well written, and so important. As a trainer, facilitator and former mediator, I witnessed firsthand the necessity for ground rules around communication and confidentiality.

A good read.

To find out more about tough business decisions and the choices that challenge our integrity, and what to do about it, check out:

No Parking Zone

The reality television show Parking Wars is an interesting way to learn about human reaction in crisis, frustration and about how people accept (or don't accept) responsibility.
One evening I decided to pop into the show briefly and observed a young woman state that she had received seven parking tickets after parking in the same No Parking Zone several times.  These seven tickets totaled $281.00 plus the fee to impound the car, as a result of the seven unpaid tickets.  The fee to park in the underground parking lot across the road would have been $7.50 per day.  What I found most interesting was her dialogue with the Impound Officer and her friend about whose responsibility and problem this actually was. Somehow this young woman had convinced herself that it was the Ticket Officer's problem.  She was full of excuses, blame and even personal put downs about the Ticket Officer.
This same scenario plays out in workplaces all the time.  Someone makes a mistake or a bad choice, and rather than own it and accept responsibility, fingers start pointing and blame and excuses fuel the dialogue.
There are clear benefits of owning your choices, actions and decisions:

• It demonstrates integrity
• Owning up shows you are not perfect
• Relationships are maintained instead of becoming strained
• You can change the behavior for next time or to improve the situation
• Owning your actions reduces chance of the same mistake(s) occurring again
• There is learning and growth

The benefits of owning your choice and actions far outweigh blame, excuses and putting the responsibility onto others.  Workplace environments that faster respect, acceptance, and trust provide the "safety zone" for team members to effectively handle mistakes and own their actions.