The Millionaire Mind Support Network

The Decision Process

This process can be applied to any situation where you need to make an important decision. If you follow these ten basic steps, you will find yourself making wiser decisions in your professional as well as your personal life.

1. Define, as specifically as possible, what the decision is that needs to be made. Is this really your decision or someone else’s? Do you really need to make a decision? (If you do not have at least two options, there is no decision to be made.) When does the decision need to be made? Why is this decision important to you? Who will be affected by this decision? What values does this decision involve for you?

2. Write down as many alternatives as you can think of. Brainstorm as many different alternatives as you can imagine. Let your imagination run free and try not to censure anything; this is not the time to be judgmental. Just be sure to write everything down.

3. Think where you could find more information about possible alternatives. If you only come up with a few alternatives, you may want to get more information. Additional information generally leads to more alternatives. Places where you can look for the information you need include friends, family, clergy, co-workers, state and federal agencies, professional organizations, online services, newspapers, magazines, books, and so on.

4. Check out your alternatives. Once you have a list of alternatives, use the same sources of information to find out more about the specifics of each option. You will find that the more information you gather, the more ideas will pop into your head. Be sure to write these down and check them out too.

5. Sort through all of your alternatives. Now that you have your list of alternatives, it is time to begin evaluating them to see which one works for you. First, write down the values that would come into play for each alternative. Second, look for the alternatives that would allow you to use the greatest number of your values. Third, cross the alternatives off the list that do not fit into your personal value framework.

6. Visualize the outcomes of each alternative. For each remaining alternative on your list, picture what the outcome of that alternative will look like. Here, too, it helps if you write out your impressions.

7. Do a reality check. Which of your remaining alternatives are most likely to happen? Cross off those alternatives that most likely will not happen to you.

8. Which alternative fits you? Review your remaining alternatives and decide which ones feel most comfortable to you. These are your wise decisions. If you are very happy about a decision, but are not as comfortable with its possible outcome, this is a clue that this is not a wise decision for you. On the other hand, you may dislike an alternative, but be very excited about the possible outcome. This decision would probably not be wise for you either. If you feel you can live with both the alternative as well as the possible outcome, this is the wise decision you should follow.

9. Get started! Once you have made your decision, get moving on it. Worrying or second-guessing yourself will only cause grief. You have done your very best for the present; you always have the option of changing your mind in the future. Remember, no decision is set in stone.

10. How is it going? Be sure to review your decision at specified points along the road. Are the outcomes what you expected? Are you happy with the outcomes? Do you want to let the decision stand or would you like to make some adjustments? If the decision did not come out the way you planned, go through the complete decision-making process again. In the process, answer the following questions: Did I not have enough information? What values actually came into play? Were they my values or someone else’s?

Remember, you can always change your mind. Millionaire Minds know they can choose again.

I’m a retired SBDC counselor, who knows where to look stuff up — both online and IRL. In this case my source is a SBA publications. For individual business support with any aspect of your business contact the nearest SBA-sponsored Small Business Development Center.

Copyright © Millionaire Minds, LLC 2007
All writings here are copyrighted. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts. And remember, You Have a Millionaire Mind!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

Some of us started our Millionaire Mind journey when we decided to go to the Austin Health Conference last March. While there, we decided to sign up for T. Harv Eker’s Millionaire Mind Workshop. When T. Harv’s plane was diverted and he missed the talk, he decided to gift about 500 of us with scholarships to the Millionaire Mind Intensive weekend in Fort Worth. About 350 of us decided to go to Fort Worth, about 320 graduated Millionaire Mind Intensive three days later. Of that number, about 100 of us decided to form a Millionaire Mind Support Network™ to help each other implement the many lessons of our Millionaire Mind Intensive experience.

Millionaire Mind training stress business ownership, self employment or being paid by your output rather then by the hour is the surest path to wealth creation and financial freedom. Most of us left Forth Worth knowing that we were facing a number of decisions that would effect every aspect of our lives.

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

It seems like every time we turn around, we have to make more decisions.

The question is, “Are you a good decision maker?”

If you aren’t (or don’t think you are), there is no need to worry. Decision-making is a skill that can be learned by anyone. Although some people may find this particular skill easier than others, everyone applies a similar process.

There are two basic kinds of decisions:

Those that are arrived at using a specific process and those that just happen.

Although both kinds of decisions contain opportunities and learning experiences, there are definite advantages to using a specific process to make a decision. The most obvious advantage is the reduced level of stress you will experience.

Wise decisions are made using a definite process. They are based on the values and perceptions of the decision-maker and include carefully considered alternatives and options along with periodic reassessments of the decision and its effects. Wise decisions may or may not follow societal norms and expectations, but they are right for the decider based on what he/she knows at that point in time about his/her options as well as him/herself.

The next Millionaire Mind Support Network™ Blog entry will review Ten Steps to Wise Decision-Making

Just a reminder — I’m a retired SBDC counselor, who knows where to look stuff up — both online and IRL. In this case my source is SBA publications. For individual business support with any aspect of your business contact the nearest SBA-sponsored Small Business Development Center.

Copyright © Millionaire Minds, LLC 2007
All writings here are copyrighted. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts. And remember, You Have a Millionaire Mind!

I’m a big believer in the angels of inspiration…

My personal celestial muse has been nudging me to explore our preoccupation with competition. The topic has come up several times in casual conversations within our network of business associates and friends. Modeling rich and successful people or organizations, sometimes means studying and emulating what some would refer to “the competition”.

In Speed Wealth, T. Harv Eker suggests identifying and copying those processes that are contributing to the success of a business similar to yours is a best practice. My interpretation of Eker’s best practice modeling is that he is encouraging us to use our time in the most efficient manner possible. By modeling and replicating those proven business processes within our own enterprise, it frees time and resources to pursue innovation in our business’ core competencies.

As a SBDC counselor, I often helped my clients develop a competitive analysis as part of their business planning or expansion initiatives. When studying business competitors, entrepreneurs are often tempted to match products and services feature to feature. This type of “carbon modeling” can lead to losing all differentiation between the two businesses. When a customer can’t identify a unique feature about a business’ product, service or market position, the business that does it better or cheaper, wins…
Think WAL MART vs. KMART. One became a world retail power; the other was bought out bankruptcy primarily for its prime real estate holdings.

I was reviewing some old files in my annual, KEEP or TOSS ritual; I came across my notes from a long ago Quality Systems Conference. As I reviewed them, I realized that the observations about competition are even more pertinent today than when I first scribbled them down.

I do not know whom to site for these astute observations concerning the nature of competition — I just know their thoughts are worth sharing.

Excessive Focus on Competition Has Always Been a Formula for Mediocrity
(A cautionary tale about indiscriminate modeling)

“Our word Mediocre comes from combining two old Latin words into an idiomatic expression that is literally translated to mean ‘halfway up the mountain’. The idea behind the expression is that a person stranded in a no-man’s-land between two ideals.

That’s exactly what a preoccupation with competition does to any business or person. Consider a few of the most obvious conditions that emerge when a company focuses attention primarily on its competition.

What Are The Hidden Costs Of Competition?

It causes a loss of identity. All the competitors in a given arena tend to copy each other’s products, services and methods to the point where it’s hard for customers and employees to distinguish one from the others.

1. It causes individuals and firms to get so caught up in struggling with each other that they lose sight of their own customers and markets,

2. It forces so much concern over minor cost-reduction measures that innovations that could create major savings or major income get completely overlooked.

3. It creates so much concern over short-term sales and profits that long term- profits, problems and opportunities consistently get overlooked.

4. It so limits the resources available for innovation that change can come about only as a result of a crisis.

5. It lulls companies into a complacency born of the belief that they are secure as long as they are currently maintaining their share of an identified market.

Are you modeling rich and successful people as part of your business initiative? Let us know how its working for you, We are collecting personal observations and successful strategies to share with the Millionaire Mind Support Network™

Just a reminder — I’m a retired SBDC counselor, who knows where to look stuff up — both online and IRL. In this case, my source documents are my personal notes from the National Business Quality Conference, 1994. For individual business support with any aspect of your business contact the nearest SBA-sponsored Small Business Development Center.

Millionaire Minds are constant learners.

Copyright © Millionaire Minds, LLC 2007
All writings here are copyrighted. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts. And remember, You Have a Millionaire Mind!