October 28, 2005
Stay away from speculation when making decisions by focusing on factors within one’s control
In business, one often worries about what others will say or do. Yet, if one gives too much credence to what others may say or do, one is on the defensive and becomes reactive.
SBC or AT&T
In this blog about the SBC acquisition of AT&T, I suggested that SBC had likely considered how the new firm’s competitors would react to each possible strategy.
Asking about others’ likely reactions invites speculation about:
Base Decisions on Facts that are Known
When dealing with situations that we can’t know what will happen, models may be engaged. Or one may simply make the best decision possible under the facts that are known.
The keys to making a good decision are:
In short, focus on factors within one’s control.
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 2003
Filed by Coleen Davis at 4:08 pm under Leadership, Marketing, Negotiations, Planning Tips
[...] This seldom works, and almost never works in the way that was intended. As was suggested in this posting over a year ago, one way to deal with issues like this is to negotiate by focusing on factors [...]