Difficult Decisions Made Easier: Zero Based Thinking

I was listening to a Brian Tracy CD this morning when I was driving to see a client and he talked about an extremely interesting technique if you are struggling to make a difficult decision or you face a dilemma.

It's called zero based thinking.

Ask yourself

"Knowing what I know now, would I still make the same decision?"

Example 1 - A Difficult Member of Staff.

Imagine if one of your team members is unreliable, does their job poorly, won't communicate despite many requests for updates.

So ask yourself

"Knowing what I know now, would I still recruit this person?"

If your answer is "No", then it is a pretty clear indication that it is time for a parting of the ways.

You can't carry staff that you wouldn't re-employ.

I remember one of my biggest lessons in my management career.

I was chief accountant at an engineering company in the West Midlands of the UK and I had a financial accountant who was hopeless.

I revised my expectations and standards of his work downwards and then down again. It seemed the less I expected, the less he achieved.

Finally I had enough and accepted that it couldn't carry on.

I fired him but I think it was a relief to him and it certainly was to me.

From that on I swore that I would never again lower my standards of what I expected from my team. If the person is not good enough, accept it and move on.

Example 2 - A Failing Franchise

I have a friend who bought into a franchise and paid a lot of money.

Unfortunately the area wasn't exclusive and was largely tapped out by the existing franchisee.

The franchisor had undeveloped marketing systems and offered little in the way of lead generation but expected a monthly franchising fee to continue to be paid.

I helped him focus his mind by explaining about zero based thinking.

"Knowing what I know now, would I still buy this franchise?"

Again the answer was "No."

It was barely generating any cash and certainly wasn't providing a return for the time spent.

While it was a bitter pill, it was time to accept that the franchise fee was gone.

The business opportunity was never there and it had been a bad decision. But it would have been an even worse decision to continue wasting time on this failed franchise.

Example 3 - A Professional Association

A few years ago I joined a network of business advisers.

It had seemed a good idea at the time and some of the members were making a lot of money out of it.

But they were going one way and I was going another and over time we grew further apart.

I still rate the network and despite assurances that they would move back into the middle ground, I asked myself the zero based thinking question.

"Knowing what I know now, would I still join?"

The answer was "No" so I knew it was time to leave. OK it cost me money as I certainly never recouped my investment and who knows, perhaps it would have generated future profits.

But I felt so much better when I had faced up to the question and made the decision.

Conclusion

Are you facing a difficult decision?

Are you locked in the horns of a dilemma?

Just try zero based thinking and ask yourself:

"Knowing what I know now, would I..."

Has it helped?

Zero based thinking is a fantastic coaching or self-coaching technique to encourage you to free your mind of the current situation.

It reframes the issue into a simple black or white answer. And when you've got the answer, you know what to do.

It's then just a question of when and how.

If you would like to know more about Brian Tracy's work and zero based thinking is a core component of his approach then this is a great offer.

To Your Success

Your Profit Coach

Paul Simister

Business coaching for customer focused entrepreneurs

Comments

[Louise BJ]

Thanks Paul for that truly powerful question. It can be so easy to stay attached to an idea even when it obviously isn't working.

Zero based thinking will make a lot of difference to me and my business (although I have a feeling it might sometimes be a painful process!)

[Paul Simister, Your Profit Coach]

Hi Louise

Thanks for the comment but really the thanks goes to Brian Tracy.

As I explained in the blog it made me focus on whether I should stay in the business advisory network.

At some time you do have to face up to problem issues and with hindsight, it is often the case that you wish you'd done it sooner.

Difficult decisions are never easy but I find the zero based approach really focuses my mind and helps put a grey, shady subject into black and white.

Knowing what I do know, would I...have started this blog.

You bet I would.

[JohnB]

Hi Paul,

Most of my business education is Jay Abraham focused, haven't had time to explore other authors.

But I have been familiar with Brian Tray's zero based thinking, very powerful. It definitely allows you to get out of things that arent working. Your time is so valuable, you just cant waste it on alot of things that aren't working or that you wouldn't get into again.

[Rodney Burge]

Hey Paul,

As someone who was a four-year participant in Brian Tracy's "Focal Point" Coaching Program, I will say that Brian's "Zero-Based Thinking" philosophy is one of the most critical exercises an entreprenuer can perform. It can (and will) change the course of a persons business and life if practiced on a regular basis.

I have found that the only way a person can take full advantage of their life and business experiences, is to consistently ask (and answer) THE question, "knowing what I now know, would I have make the same decision again?". The only way some situations can get better is to stop doing what you've been doing and start doing what you should be doing.

By the way Paul, this is a great blog.

I'll visit often.

Rodney