3 Frameworks for Fast Decision Making

Fast decision making is a major business advantage.

Here are 3 frameworks I use for quickly making decisions:

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

1. How to deal with stress

When you’re stressed about an issue, ask yourself two questions:

1. Do you have control over the issue?
2. Will the issue get better or worse with time?

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

If the issue improves with time, you may not need to worry about it.

If it gets worse, do you have control over it?

We often stress about things outside of our immediate control.

Action may be helpful, but stress is not. Don’t worry about things you can’t control.

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

2. How to know when to quit

When trying to decide whether or not to quit a project, ask yourself two questions:

1. Do you still want this as much today as the day you started?
2. Have you given it every possible chance to succeed?

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

In 2014, ConvertKit was losing money every month. After two years of effort, we hadn’t grown. Revenue was flat. I was faced with a major decision:

Shut down or double down.

I asked myself two questions…

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

1. Did I still want to build a software company as much as I did before?

Yes, my drive and desire was still there.

I then asked myself:

2. Did I give ConvertKit the best possible chance to succeed?

No, ConvertKit was only a side project at that time.

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

I doubled down on ConvertKit.

We grew monthly revenue 100x from $1.3k to $130k in 15 months.

Doubling down on ConvertKit worked for me. But some projects need to be killed.

If you gave it your best shot, and you’re no longer committed, it’s probably time to shut it down.

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

3. How to deal with team issues

Let’s say Person A comes to you with a problem about Person B.

You’ll be tempted to take on the burden and promise to help them solve the issue. But do that a few times and you’ll end up carrying the weight of everyone’s issues!

Do this instead:

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

Listen carefully to Person A’s problem.

Then say:

“I’m assuming you’re telling me this because:

• You need to get clear on your thoughts before talking with Person B, or...
• You’re worried about the conversation and you’d like an observer to keep the conversation on track.”

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023

Follow up with:

“Which one is it, and when do you plan to have this conversation?”

What just happened is pure magic:

Instead of taking on the emotional burden, you listened and then channeled the energy toward the only thing that gets long-term results: a direct conversation.

— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) April 5, 2023