Strategic decisions are those courses of action that impact an entire enterprise, and according to Myers-Briggs some of us, including me, may be wired to make bad strategic decisions.
In Myers-Briggs you have the judging-perceiving dichotomy. Judgers tend to make decisions more quickly, because they are energized by finishing tasks. Perceivers tend to lolly-gag–at least they do in the minds of judgers–because they are energized by the pressure of the dead line. I am a judger, but when it comes to making strategic decisions I consciously delay making them quickly.
Why? Because strategic decisions require examining all of the possible paths you might take and systematically ruling out all of them but one, the best one, and then focusing on this most important path until its course ends in the achievement of your aim.
For example, if I am confronted by three possible courses of action at the outset of making a decision, it is possible that all three are very inferior to what is ultimately the best path, the path that I am unaware of at that moment. Of the three available options, I am confident I would pick the best path. But had I waited and explored other options, seeking feedback from colleagues, journals, customers, and so on, I might have discovered a far superior way to invest my time and energy.
By focusing on the best of the immediately available three options I would probably have produced favorable results. And this becomes a win-lose, because this small win would reinforce my faulty problem-solving approach. When it comes to strategic decisions the goal is not to hit singles, but home runs, because singles may keep you in the game for a time, but homers eventually lead to market dominance. And market dominance requires maximizing the results produced by the expenditure of your precious store of energy and time.
The problem-solving model that I follow is simple and can be summed up in three words: Simplify. Focus. Achieve. Or, to flesh this out a bit: Seek all options, invite them, then test and reduce them to the best option. Once the best course of action is discovered, focus all available energy on this option. After all, if it is the best possible option, then what better way is there of spending your time? Finally, achieve your goal. Don’t give up. It may take time, years even, but if it is the best possible option, then make it happen. However, if you determine you made a mistake in choosing this option, then you are back to square one and must test all available choices until the best choice is left standing.