Hesitation and procrastination are not particularly expedient, and doom-mongering can often have a negative influence on the result. The alarm bells for self-fulfilling prophecies definitely start ringing with comments like: “It will never work anyway” or “Nobody’s ever done it like that”.

Thousands of decisions every day

Research has revealed that we make around 20,000 decisions every day. We often rely on our gut instincts for help. However, we don’t actually make decisions with our gut but draw sub-conscious comparisons between the decision to be made and similar previous experiences and then allow ourselves to be guided by them. Logically, we tend to choose an option that has led to success in the past. The test subjects in the research were found to make the right decisions in around 60 to 70 percent of cases.

This indicates that many of our daily business decisions can be made more quickly when acting on instinct. This strategy is obviously only suitable in instances where an error rate of about 30 to 40 percent can be tolerated. This has to be balanced against a gain in efficiency which needs to be exploited.

Positive attitude, gut instinct and courage fuel success

As soon as trust in one’s own instincts and a positive attitude are joined by courage and the willingness to take a (calculated) risk, the main components considered responsible for entrepreneurial success are assembled. While of great value, a fundamentally positive attitude is not enough to make successful decisions. Important decisions require good preparation!

My tip: If a decision has been made, it must be implemented with total commitment. Or to use a metaphor: If I decide to jump over the stream, I must do it with conviction and a positive attitude and then my feet will stay dry ... most of the time anyway.

Who hasn’t experienced it:

A small stream with muddy banks may teach you respect, but it’s easy enough to jump over. Just as you’re about to take the leap, the tension in your body is joined by a sudden sense of doubt and a negative image pops into your head. The leap is small and slightly delayed. And it ends as only it could: the jump is too short, and you find yourself ankle-deep in mud. Top athletes adopt this method but do so inversely, only thinking in positive images.

Martin Auerbach, Chief Executive Officer, Heimtex Association

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