#Mckinsey work life balance how to#

What’s needed are concrete processes and policies that valorize decisive execution and protect from finger pointing.įor example, we hold regular no-blame retrospectives and quarterly reviews. But for this to work, it has to be more than slogans on the wall. Many organizations claim to support risk-taking and a willingness to fail. One of the biggest impediments to quick action is the fear of making a mistake. In the end, your process should scale with the magnitude of the decision. At the same time, any leader who makes strategic decisions like acquisitions or annual resource allocations on a whim is in for a bumpy ride. Plus, making a choice and learning from it provides far more concrete information than any pre-decision analysis usually can.Īn equally important pre-game question: What truly hangs in the balance? You don’t need an eight-page decision brief weighing the pros and cons of extending a successful service contract. Sometimes, you can get to the right decision faster by just picking one path quickly and seeing what happens rather than trying to analyze it all before you decide.

As a leader of a company with hundreds of employees and more than 50,000 customers, I’ve found that a few essential pre-game questions lead to faster, better decision-making.įor me, this starts with a simple evaluation: Is this decision a one-way door or is it easily reversible? Some moves are difficult if not impossible to take back, like having children, moving to a different city, or acquiring another company, so it makes sense to fully explore the options before deciding, and take your time and do deep analysis.īut if it’s something that’s less permanent, like the messaging on an ad campaign or landing page, or a new product feature, it’s better to choose more quickly since you can readily pivot afterward. Those blockers have intensified as economic uncertainty, political unrest, and pandemic weariness have brought many to the brink of burnout.īut focusing on the “pre-decision process”-which is a simple but often overlooked stage of decision-making-can help. Others succumb to analysis paralysis, perfectionism, or fear of making a mistake. They may lack experience or confidence, or wonder if they’re the right person to make the call. A study from McKinsey puts the price of inefficient decision-making at $250 million per year in wasted hours for managers at the average Fortune 500 company.Īs a leader, I’ve seen people drag their feet (my own included!) on decisions for myriad reasons. In a business context, it can also cost millions. But when life-changing choices hang in the balance-like whether to buy a house, take a new job, or get married-indecision can have deep and lasting consequences.

#Mckinsey work life balance how to#

When stakes are low, like how to spend a few hours of downtime, this “decision purgatory” can be frustrating. With so many options at our fingertips, it’s easy to get stuck.