Decision Points

Ever found yourself sweating bullets over a major decision that had to be made on the fly? I, Dennis Guzik, a former Marine turned career guru, bring battle-tested strategies to your everyday decision-making conundrums in our latest episode, "Decision Points." With my military background, I'm here to help you navigate through those nail-biting moments – whether it's accepting that job offer or selling your treasured convertible – by setting up Decision Points in advance. This not only curbs the panic but ensures you're calling the shots with a level head.

During our chat, I recount an enlightening conversation with a client struggling to make quick, career-defining choices. We dissect how to establish these Decision Points, weighing the pros and cons without the pressure, and then applying that calm logic when the clock's ticking. It's all about being prepared, so when the moment of truth arrives, you're the cool customer with a plan. Tune in for tactical advice that translates seamlessly from the battlefield to the boardroom, and don't forget to grab a copy of my book, "Find a Job That Fits Your Life," for even more strategic career maneuvers.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hi folks. Well, it's Dennis Guzik, the old jarhead with the great career advice that I guarantee is going to help your career. So let's get going today on today's podcast that we call Decision Points. So recently I was speaking with a client who had a rather quickly make some big career decisions and it was going to be based on information that she would receive and then make a decision on. It's a great position to be in in her case, but any decision that you make under the stress of a deadline can be problematic. You can make the wrong decision because of that stress and the emotions that that stress cause you right there and then at that decision time. So luckily for her and you, my listeners, is that my Marine Corps taught me all about decision making under stress, and one technique that's used inside the planning process is to create what we call Decision Points, and that was my advice to her and that's what we're going to talk about here.

Speaker 1: 1:12

So what is a decision point? Well, in a tactical sense, it is the decision we'll have to make when a specific event or information is received, and you need to make that decision quickly. For example, if you're attacking and you have success on your left flank. Do you commit your reserves to reinforce that success or do you hold them back for another purpose? If you make that decision right there at the moment, you can make the wrong one because of the stress and the excitement. So during the planning process you make success on either your left flank, your right flank or up the middle. You make those decision points right and while it's calm and before you even start your attack, you decide that if I get success on this area, I will commit my reserve and if I have success anywhere else, I'm going to hold that reserve back. So you do that when you can think through the pros and cons of each decision, talk it out with the staff. You don't do it under the pressure of the moment. So how does that apply to you?

Speaker 1: 2:20

Well, let's take the example of having to quickly decide on a pending job offer. What you need to do is think through that offer to include how well that job fits your life, the salary and the benefits being offered. You do this before you receive the offer. You don't sit there and go boy, I hope it's a good offer without defining what a good offer is. That way, you won't be swayed negatively or positively when the offer comes in. For example, you might say if the offer is to be a program manager with a salary of $100,000 a year, I won't take that offer, but if it's less I'll reject it or at least go back and talk to the offer. So when the offer comes in, you already have thought through what you want. Does that mean you have to follow this preconceived, this preplanned decision? Nope, but if you don't, you need to realize that you may be being swayed by the emotions of the moment and not by more clear and rational thought.

Speaker 1: 3:19

You made accepting a new job offer decision point and then thought through your response. Be careful about not using it. So there's other places you can use this. For example, you probably already have done this. If you were, say, selling your car, you thought through the minimum you would take for that car before you talk to buyers. You don't want to be with a buyer. They offer you a low price, but they're trying to sway you when you say yes, okay. So the bottom line is that when you know you have to make a big decision under time constraints, treat it like we do in my beloved Marine Corps and set that up as a decision point. Think through that decision before you make it. Then, when the time comes, you'll be much better prepared to make the decision. Well, that's it for now and, as usual, I have to plug my book. Find a job that fits your life, because, well, the process I described in that book works really well and it can help you making your career decisions. Thanks for listening to the old jarhead and bye.