“That’s an important issue that you’ve raised, and we should talk about it and decide at the right time.”

For this manager, it was never the right time.

“I’m not making a decision until the facts are clear and I’m comfortable.”

The facts were never quite clear enough and she was most definitely never comfortable.

“I don’t care what the competitors are doing, we’re not getting into the low-end of this market.  There’s no margin in it.”

The low end of the market became the market.  This company is gone.

“We’ve stuck with this project too long to back away.”

It’s never too long to back away.  Quit throwing good money after bad.

“The group is convinced that this is the right way to go.”

Beware of groups that are convinced of anything.  They have an annoying habit of talking themselves into bad ideas.

“Because I said so.”

Hey, my parents quit using that one years ago.

—

Recognize that you are measured by the impact of your decisions in the long-term and you are judged by your choice of words every time you open your mouth.

Use Ben Franklin’s method of logging your decisions and tracking and reviewing your results over time.  Identify flaws and shortcomings in your process for evaluating and making decisions and refine your approach.

And remember that in all circumstances your mouth is controlled by your brain.  Use your brain before engaging your mouth.