(EOS Episode 29) The EOS Ten Commandments For Clear Business Decisions

This time on Traction for Your Workplace Goals, Certified EOS Implementer Michele Mollard breaks down the EOS Ten Commandments of Decision Making and why leaders lose traction when they wait for perfect certainty. 

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EOS-Traction for Your Workplace Goals is a Livemic Communications production.

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Promise

Richard Piet 0:02

I'm Richard Piet. This is EOS Traction for Your Workplace Goals. Michele Mollard is a certified EOS implementer. We talk about some of those workplace goals for which maybe you don't quite have enough traction and the EOS process that helps turn that around. Hello, Michele. Hello, Richard. Today we're talking about the 10 commandments of decision making and how that helps you get unstuck in business. It sounded like an epic motion picture, but really it's only 10 things that we should consider when we're talking about decision making. What do we really mean?

The Ten Commandments Overview

Decisions Build Clarity And Courage

Commit After The Decision

Michele Mollard 0:45

So, Richard, I love when you said that's a motion picture because this could be. This is literally your motion picture of how you get your business unstuck. So building the skill set of the ability to decide is a real thing. There are so many times where I speak with leaders and they're like Michele, I just can't decide. And so these are the Ten Commandments. And I think, Richard, you'll have them in the show notes because it's a lot. But those of you that are listening, uh, if you're driving, please pull over. Uh, but if you are near a pen and a paper, uh, I'll go through these and then we'll take them one by one or a little bit of a grouping. Some of them can be grouped uh together. But the 10 commandments are this thou shall not rule by consensus. And then it always is thou shall, right? And so that just goes, thou shall. And then not rule by consensus is the first one. I'll go back to this one. So bear with me. Not be a weenie. That's what it says. I promise you. This is the EOS way. And so there's a little bit of funniness and a little bit of not so serious world. The third one is be decisive. So thou shalt be decisive. Thou shalt not rely on secondhand information. Thou shall not fight, or that shall, excuse me, that thou shalt fight for the greater good. Thou shalt not try to solve them all, which is key. You shall live with it, end it, or change it. That's one. So that is one commandment. Live with it, end it, change it. Choose short-term pain and suffering, because sometimes we make decisions that um linger on and it's long-term pain and suffering. We shall choose short-term pain and suffering. We shall enter the danger, is the ninth one. And the tenth one is take a shot. Just take a shot, and I'll explain those all to you. So all of this is the idea of being able to decide decisions that we make decisions, it's a muscle. Um, and so many teams don't believe that it's a muscle. And so the better that we can get at this, the more work that we can do when you don't decide you're not using that muscle. And so decision making gives it clarity, gives it courage, and gives you practice, right? And so we've got to be able to do that. If we can make decisions, it will give clarity. We will try, that'll take a shot. If we take that shot and we learn from it, then okay. We got more clarity. That didn't work, is clarity, right? And so sometimes we want to always go in the right direction, but sometimes we can't, and sometimes it has to give us clarity, right? The I'll go back to the thou shall not be a weenie, right? Because I know some people it gets a little derogatory on there. Um, but it's courage, it's just courage to take a shot, thou shalt try to do something, and that we hesitate if out of fear, we hesitate about being wrong. And all of that is all about the U-turn is like, okay, we made a decision, it was wrong. Oops, right? And again, we've talked about this before. You know, if we hang up the blind wrong, no one dies from it, we just have to fix it. But then we learn from it. Don't do that again. In this circumstance, I learn, right? And so as leaders, we have all those things. So I wanted to pause there. I know I kind of just started jumping into some of them. Um, but I just wanted to explain those few because those are probably the two, don't be a weenie and take a shot, that are the most unclear as we go through there.

Richard Piet 4:20

So yeah, I think my favorite, and I'm jumping ahead, is okay, thou shalt live with it, end it, or change it. I mean, it really can be as simple as that.

Michele Mollard 4:33

It is as simple as that. Um commit, try it, and then if we're wrong, we adjust, right? And so sometimes leaders, we will have a conversation in a room and everybody nods their heads, and not everybody is agreeing with it, meaning that they verbally commit and when they leave the room, they don't. And so the leadership team has the the ability to do that is truly commit, live with it or change it, right? Or end it, excuse me, is live with it, end it, or change it. Um, and so we make the decision, we live with it, if we don't, right? Or we uh end it, right? Make a decision to end it or make a decision to change it, right? And so those are the three things that uh all issues fall into, really.

Stop Ruling By Consensus

Richard Piet 5:22

Take your pick. I imagine though, some folks get to that. I equate it with like being on the end of the diving board, you know, I'm gonna jump, but they can't quite get the momentum to make the decision. So what happens then? How does EOS make that clearer for the decision to be made?

Michele Mollard 5:43

Yeah, I mean, I think uh there's a lot of things that we put into place. There's a so there's a lot that I don't want to scroll off too far, but there's a lot of things that potentially we're making a lot of decisions from an emotional standpoint or from an ego standpoint and not with enough data, right? And so rule by consensus, right, is sounds noble, right? But it's mediocrity. What do you think? What do you think? Okay, we'll do it what everybody else likes. And that might not get us where we need to be. And so again, you're asking what does EOS put in place to be able to do that? Is we want ideas from everybody, but somebody has to make the decision. And in our world, the integrator, if there's a tie across a leadership team, the integrator makes the call. We make the call, we make a decision, we change it, we live with it, we end it, whatever that is, right? But we are always making a decision. So that's the underlying factor of what we when we teach these 10 commandments to our teams, is this is what you need to believe in in order to move your organization forward. And so they all come into play kind of all the same times as we go in there and just kind of wrapping our minds around that making a decision is giving clarity, even if it is the wrong decision. It is the courage to do it and the practice, the muscle memory to be able to make these decisions.

Richard Piet 7:00

All right. Thou shalt not rule by consensus. Did we cover uh thou shalt not be a weenie enough?

Be Decisive Over Perfect

Michele Mollard 7:06

Right. I love it. Um, yeah, it's just that the worry, the fear of being wrong. Don't worry about it, right? And and the team knows again this open and honest culture that we teach about EOS, or if you're not running on EOS and you're listening to this, how do you start building that and then going, guess what? I was wrong. Oh my goodness, right? Like I was wrong. So what? Right? So so then you and then say, hey, team, I made the decision. We talked about it, we all agreed, I made that decision, and it was wrong. So now what, guys? Now we have a how we do it, right? And so again, when that team is involved in that, they're feeling great about that. They're not worried that you were wrong. You're not a machine, right? And in humans are wrong, and we just have to own it and move on. And that's what that's getting to, right? Is just make a decision.

Richard Piet 7:53

And there is a uh segue right there to thou shalt be decisive. Yeah, it's decisiveness you're talking about.

Michele Mollard 8:02

Yeah. There's a really great, I'm looking down at my sheet uh that's really great. It says, most bad outcomes aren't the result of a bad decision, they're a result of indecision. It's really a great way to wrap them.

Richard Piet 8:15

Yeah, it's funny you said that because when we started this, uh when Michele and I connected on this call, I made a comment about the show The Sopranos. One of my favorite lines from that is from who I call the great uh philosopher Carmela, who said exactly what you just said. They're thinking about buying a house at the beach, and she's and they can't make up their mind. Their kids going to college. What you know, should we spend this money? And she says, more is lost by indecision than the wrong decision. You just said it.

Michele Mollard 8:47

Absolutely the same thing. Um, 70% of good decisions made today, it beats a perfect decision later.

Richard Piet 8:56

Right?

Michele Mollard 8:56

Like let's make it today as opposed to waiting until it's perfect, right? So I'm always talking about progress over perfection. Again, that's progress. It's make a decision towards progress. We're not perfect, we'll never be perfect, and every decision can't be perfect, and every decision can't make everybody happy. Hence, don't rule by consensus.

Richard Piet 9:15

Yeah. They all are woven together, aren't they?

Michele Mollard 9:19

They are all woven together. That's why we teach them all together.

Richard Piet 9:22

Yeah. Here's one that appeals to the uh ex-journalist and me. Thou shalt not rely on secondhand information. How does this relate in your world?

Michele Mollard 9:33

Yeah. So again, get to the source. Ask the questions. Don't assume we all can remember what that definition looks like, right? And so we're saying, oh, well, Belly, you know, bit Betty Sue or whoever said this. And it's like, did she? Did she not? Right? We don't really know. And so verify the facts and build those decisions on those things, right? Ask the questions, get to the source, verify the facts. No assumptions. They're not them that can't be built that way. And so we have to understand that, right? And really understand that this isn't about drama. This isn't about, right? Let's not, let's not keep breeding that in the organization is oh, I just want to bring this up to stir the pot.

Richard Piet 10:13

Let's not about drama. This isn't about drama. That's where the uh Sopranos comparisons end.

Michele Mollard 10:19

Yes, yes.

Richard Piet 10:21

Thou shalt fight for the greater good. Yeah. Clarify that.

Check Ego For The Greater Good

Michele Mollard 10:28

Yeah. So this is where we were talking about decision making, right? This is gonna come a little harsh. Check your ego. The greater good is not always what you need, right? Even as a leader, even as an owner, I tell my owners often, what's the greater good? Now we use tools in EOS to help them define the greater good, which is that vision traction organizer. So if you haven't heard that, there's plenty of podcasts on that. But it's it once we define where we're going in the vision that it is, everything is filtered in there. And sometimes we're like, oh, but I would really like that. Yeah, but that's not gonna help Richardsteam. That's not gonna help the organization get there. And so we've got to fight for the greater good. So decisions have to be made with that mind. Decisions that are made in isolation rarely help, right? The organization, they help the individual. And so we just have to be uh aware of that as we're going through the decision-making process.

Richard Piet 11:25

Whoa, let that one sink in. Decisions in isolation. Wow. Thou shalt not try to solve them all.

Michele Mollard 11:35

Yeah, this is a hard one for leaders. Not every issue should be solved. And then how do we wrap our heads around that, right? What I'm trying to get at is prioritizing them. So if we have 10 issues that we need to solve, solving the priority, the greater good, see how it feeds up, right? Secondhand information, like it's all this is all just massively intertwined into each other. But it's not worth the energy because it doesn't matter right now. It doesn't mean it doesn't matter, right? So if I have my sales numbers are completely off track and I have a decision to make about the holiday party, I want to, from a fun standpoint, decide about the holiday party because it's fun. But we may not have a holiday party if our sales aren't on track because the company may not be able to afford it, right? And so that's what we mean is that we may not all need to solve them all, and that we just need to prioritize things that are gonna help us move the business forward. I'm not saying that party hard day parties aren't fine. I love holiday parties. I think they're wonderful. But let's make sure we take them in the right priority.

Richard Piet 12:46

That's all. Thou shalt live with it, end it, or change it. Anything we want to add about that?

Michele Mollard 12:52

Yeah, I think the only thing that I want to add is uh once a decision is made, commit, right? That's what it means, live with it, right? Um, and so that's what we have to do. We have to figure that out. Um, don't let it linger in limbo, right? Like make a decision, either commit to it, you know, end it or change it, whatever it might be. And again, those can loop around and loop around and loop around, right? So we made a decision. Oops, not the right decision, change it, great, or just we're not doing this, period. We're just not gonna do this thing.

Richard Piet 13:23

So the next one kind of reminds me of uh how you emphasize certain words in a sentence. So you've heard that, you've seen that let's eat grandma thing, right? Yes, let's eat, comma, grandma, or take the comma out, let's eat grandma. Correct. Which has two totally different connotations, right? So thou shalt choose short-term pain and suffering, or thou shalt choose short-term pain and suffering. I think the latter is where you want the emphasis, right?

Choose Short-Term Pain

Michele Mollard 13:59

Absolutely where we want the emphasis. Uh so thank you for that clarity. Uh I'm looking at my sheet of paper and I'm like, well, I forgot the comma. So uh and for sure. So the potentially decisions that you make will hurt. So just working with a team, um, and they made a staffing change that made several had to have several people go back deep into the weeds because of the letting go of this person. When they did, they realized, including the owner, had to go into the weeds. And then what they learned is that this person wasn't as magnificent as they thought, that their personality wasn't conducive or wasn't the same as everybody else. We're getting into some cultures and some long story short, rip the band aid. That's what we're talking about, the short-term parent pain, right? If we go slowly on the band-aid, it hurts, right? If we just go whap and rip it, it hurts for a while. And that's what we're kind of getting at is that the best decisions hurt at first, but it's it is about discipline, accountability, really getting there. And then, you know, again, this was one that is about a culture fit, a core value fit. Uh, and then what I told people the the one that hurts the most is usually people decisions. Um, we often find out afterwards that they just weren't as good as it were. There were there we find out for they, I'll use examples. They found out from their customers, they heard from their staff, they heard from vendors. Like this guy, I I did was wondering when you were gonna oh my.

Richard Piet 15:36

Can you imagine hearing that from a client? Wow.

Enter The Danger And Run Toward Tension

Michele Mollard 15:39

Yeah. Okay. Right? But but again, thou shalt make a decision, right? Thou shalt change it, live with it, right? All of the things we've talked about.

Richard Piet 15:46

So And thou shalt enter the danger. Be brave, I guess. Is that uh is the point? Because the other side of it pays off.

Michele Mollard 15:56

The other side of it pays off, and we're leaders in this organization that you're listening to at this podcast. It feels uncomfortable. And as leaders get comfortable feeling uncomfortable, there are decisions that are uncomfortable. And so enter the danger, find out the facts, right? No secondhand information, dig into it and run towards the tension, not away from it. It's one of the, it's probably my favorite one, is that it's hard. It's really, really, really hard. And again, these are all interwoven. You can kind of see how they tune this, but the best leaders run towards that tension, run towards that uncomfortableness to figure it out. Not because they're glutton for punishment, right? But that they want to figure it out because they want to make a decision for the greater good to deal with the everything on the right on the on the back end that will be helpful, you know, as they go.

Richard Piet 16:49

I suppose in an extreme situation, running from the danger, you'll be swallowed by it eventually.

Michele Mollard 16:56

Yeah, for sure. Right. If we don't address it, it just gets bigger and bigger, right? It's kind of like the snowball effect. If we stop the snowball halfway down the hill, it's only, you know, whatever, two feet in diameter. If we let it go to the bottom, it's now six feet in diameter. Same problem. It just gets bigger.

Take A Shot With Imperfect Info

Richard Piet 17:10

Michele's a skier. She knows about those. I do know about snow. I do. All right. Number 10 on the EOS 10 commandments of decision making, thou shalt take a shot.

How To Work With Michelle

Michele Mollard 17:21

Yeah. Perfect information doesn't exist. And so you, you, there are people, I'm one of them. Uh, if you belong to in uh subscribe to Colby, which is a cognitive uh the way I behave and the decisions that I make. I'm a huge fact finder. And so I can literally research and research and research and research and trying to find this perfect information to be able to have it all. And so it doesn't exist. You'll never have it all. Uh do some, but take a shot. It's not always there. Trust your processes, trust your data, right? Not emotions, trust your data, trust your gut sometimes, and just take a shot because non-commandments before, right? They all feed into it.

Richard Piet 18:03

There you are. The Ten Commandments of Decision Making from Michele Mollard, EOS certified, EOS implementer. If some of these made you raise your eyebrows a little bit and say, hmm, I could apply some of this in my own situation, but I maybe need a little consultation about that. Contact information is in the show notes. Reach out to Michele, and she can give you some of these nuggets to think about all the way to working with you to help you work it out. So do that. EOS Traction for Your Workplace Goals is a podcast with several episodes and more to come. Find them where you find podcasts. Subscribe there too, and you'll get a little alert when we drop new episodes. Which won't be too much longer, Michele Mollard. We'll be back. Thank you for having me.