Decisions and mistakes - two sides of the same coin

Decisions

You can learn to be a decision maker but first you have to be born with the bravery to make that decision in the first place. Some are born to be leaders whilst others are born to follow but all of us have to commit at some point in our lives. 

Do I cross the road, buy those shoes, dring that coffee etc. etc.   

Many things can affect your ability to make a decision but the most damaging is a lack of confidence.   

When I was only 17 I started a new job and was told by my interviewer that I would be his understudy and would learn the business from him. 

Only a few weeks later he resigned and went to work for another company. The Director of the business was due to go on leave and he said to me 

“Whilst I am away you must make a decision. It doesn’t matter if you make a right one or a wrong one; just make one or the other.  When I get back we will talk about any that you made wrong but every single decision you make has my 100% backing”.

And so my first management job started in the days when the position of your desk counted. I moved to the manager’s desk and took over the running of the business for two whole weeks. 

Wet behind the ears, terrified and now in charge was the best thing that could have happened. And yes, I did make some wrong decisions but I also analysed the systems and brought in new processes to make everything more efficient. 

That was in 1974 and by the time I left in 1979 my boss and I had made a very successful business from an already good business. 

You may ask what the best decision you made was.

I didn’t. 

My boss did, by placing his trust in me he allowed me to express my ability (or lack of it) freely. And as they say, you always learn by the mistakes you make. 

And so, more than 40 years later I am still making decisions and, if I am honest, I still make mistakes. 

“Your best teacher is your last mistake.”

 Ralph Nader quotes (American Activist and Lawyer, b.1934)

Let's face it who doesn't? 

But at least I make a decision.

The north and south divide

I have spent so much of my career concentrating on business in the south that it was a bit of a culture shock to travel up to Yorkshire.

Although this is the home of my fathers family, it is not a place that I have travelled to regularly since my grandparents died.

There is a subtle difference between the north and the south, and this has nothing to do with house prices or the availability of work following the demise of the coal fields.

It is quite simply, friendliness.

No cold and frosty greeting from the hotel receptionist when you arrive after a 4 hour journey looking a little tired and weary.

Instead a warm welcome from someone who does this job every day but brings something different and is genuinely pleased to be of help.

North and South

The breakfast at this hotel was (in the words of Tina Turner) simply the best.

Sausages tasted like sausages rather than reheated cardboard, the bacon was thick and juicy and the mushrooms had actually been cooked in a pan with some butter rather than shown a microwave straight out of the tin.

So what of the business.

Once again the receptionist at this important client greeted me like a long lost neighbour and the meeting was held in an informal style with the engineering team.

Will I get an order? Possibly.

However, what I did get was a desire to live in an environment where people treat you with respect and show a genuine interest in what you have to say.

That is the true north and south divide.