Transform Time With Your Team

“The senior team at Amazon is determined to keep our decision-making velocity high. Speed matters in business—plus a high-velocity decision-making environment is more fun too.”
- Jeff Bezs

Great functioning teams are able to move quickly without a lot of friction or second-guessing. This type of team has a high degree of trust, but also important frameworks for decision making that allow for high velocity.

Here are Bezos’ insights about creating an environment for rapid decision making:

“First, never use a one-size-fits-all decision-making process. Many decisions are reversible, two-way doors. Those decisions can use a lightweight process. For those, so what if you’re wrong?

Second, most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90%, in most cases you’re probably being slow. Plus, either way, you need to be good at quickly recognizing and correcting bad decisions. If you’re good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure.”

Teams, like large ocean liners, do not suddenly change direction out in the middle of the water. Building a team culture of high velocity decision making will take time. Here are 5 ways to get started.

1). Set the Intention for Speed
Sometimes people are moving slower than necessary simply because no one has ever challenged them to decide faster.

2). Start With Small Decisions
Delegate small and unimportant decisions and tell people to decide quickly. As the team gains confidence making quick decisions on small tasks, they will start to feel more confident to move quickly with bigger decisions.

3). Stop Analysis By Paralysis
Choose one big decision you’ve been avoiding, gather all the facts you have on hand and then just make your best decision. As Bezos describes - if you wait for 100% clarity, you will never make a decision.

4). Measure and Course Correct
After you make a decision, go all in and see what happens. Rarely is any decision in life and especially in business - perfect out of the gate. Watch how things go, and don’t punish anyone for making the wrong decision. Instead, take your learnings and make a new and better decision.

5). Enjoy the Process
The purpose of high velocity decision making is not to turn your culture into a stew of fast moving stress and anxiety! Instead, use your decision making framework to create growth and excitement about where the company is headed. Both employees and customers will appreciate a faster pace when it is backed up with support, common sense and the ability to adjust when things go off track - which they will inevitably do.

In conclusion, the urgency of high-velocity decision-making cannot be overstated in today's fast-paced business environment. Jeff Bezos' insights highlight the critical balance between speed and accuracy, urging leaders to act swiftly but wisely. Embracing a mindset where rapid decision-making is interwoven with an adaptive, resilient culture not only drives growth but also fosters a more dynamic and enjoyable work atmosphere. This approach ensures that your team not only keeps pace with evolving market demands but also thrives, turning potential challenges into opportunities for innovation and progress.

Activation Prompt:

To transform ROCKET Goals AI into your high-velocity decision-making coach and expert, simply begin with this basic prompt:

"Activate high-velocity decision making mode."

Then, once activated, you can engage with the AI using prompts such as:

• "Analyze a recent decision—what could I have done to speed up the process?"

• "Help me conduct a decision audit to identify bottlenecks in my team's processes."

• "Guide me through a rapid decision-making exercise for a current dilemma."

• "Teach me a quick decision-making model that I can apply when under pressure."

• "Assess the risk of making a decision with limited information."

You can also request real-time sessions for decision-making scenarios, where ROCKET Goals AI provides step-by-step coaching and feedback to sharpen your instincts and refine your ability to make swift, effective choices. This tailored guidance will help you cultivate a mindset that values speed and adaptability, ensuring that your decision-making process becomes a powerful asset in your leadership toolkit.

With the help of ROCKET Goals AI you can explore techniques and frameworks that enhance your decision-making capabilities, ensuring that you lead with confidence and agility. Whether it’s refining your intuition for quicker calls or structuring your team for efficient outcomes, ROCKET Goals AI is available 24/7 to guide you through mastering the art of high-velocity decision-making. Start accelerating your decision-making journey today!