Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MAY 2025 28 I n today's warp speed business world, the pressures to make wise decisions come at us like an onrushing tide. Strategy shifts. Team moves. Personal career pivots. There's pressure to move quickly, to respond, to act. Most of the leaders I work with already know that better questions lead to better outcomes. But when the clock is ticking and the pressure's on, it's easy to leap before we look, especially when it feels like the cost of inaction will be too high. That's where this five-question framework can help you slow down just enough to gain the clarity and confidence you need to move forward wisely. Here are the five questions I always return to in my work with teams and individuals facing pivotal choices: 1. What would happen if we did nothing? In our action-obsessed culture, this question seems counterintuitive, but weighing the consequences of inaction often reveals hidden truths. A client of mine, a financial services firm, was pondering whether to build a new fintech platform or double-down on their existing traditional model. Rather than start with "What should we do?" we began with "What if we don't do anything?" That question surfaced powerful concerns: a potential decline in younger tech- savvy customers, increased competition, and stalled innovation. In this case, inaction carried more risks than forward motion. 2. What could make us regret this decision? In The Power of Regret, Daniel Pink offers a compelling insight: most of our long-term regrets fall into four categories: foundation, boldness, moral, connection. An executive I coached had been offered a prestigious promotion at a Fortune 100 company, just as she was dreaming of leaving to write and consult. She was forced to wrestle with the tension between stability and desire. The "Regret" lens helped her clarify what she would feel five or 10 years down the road if she didn't take the leap. Her newfound clarity gave her the courage to turn down the offer. A year later, she's not only thriving in her new career, she's aligned with a deeper sense of personal fulfillment. 3. What alternatives did we overlook? The human brain is wired for efficiency, but an obsession with efficiency can often lead us into cognitive traps: confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacy, groupthink. I've seen too many leadership teams rally around the first viable solution without pausing to explore the other options. In the fintech case, this question helped the team revisit several previously dismissed ideas, including a hybrid solution that blended the best of both models. That option became the winning path, which they might not have identified if they hadn't paused to look again. 4. How will we know if this was the right decision? Too many decisions are made without a shared understanding of what success looks like. For the fintech team, we mapped out the quantitative and qualitative indicators using OKRs and KPIs. We looked at revenue projections, customer acquisition and retention rates, and internal engagement metrics. The clarity we gained gave everyone, from the C-suite to the implementation team, a way to track progress and adjust course as needed. 5. Is this decision reversible? Not all decisions are final. Thinking in terms of small experiments or "minimum viable moves" may reveal new possibilities. In the startup world, reversibility is a survival tactic, but even in established organizations, asking "Can we test this before we commit fully?" can reduce the risks. The fintech firm took an agile approach, breaking the rollout into phases with go/no-go checkpoints. Adaptability became a strategic advantage. Similarly, the executive contemplating a career change asked, "If this doesn't work, could I return? What relationships can I preserve now that will allow me to come back stronger if necessary?" Better decisions don't always come from having more information. They're more likely to come from holding space for better reflection. These five questions invite curiosity, challenge assumptions, and create the kind of thoughtful decision-making culture that today's complex business environment demands. You won't always get it perfect, but you will get it honest; and from there, better outcomes tend to follow. Visit www.hbr.org/2025/02/5-questions-to-help-your-team-make- better-decisions?autocomplete=true to read the full article on Harvard Business Review. 5 QUESTIONS TO ASK TO MAKE A BETTER DECISION Steven Morris On Brand Steven Morris is a brand, culture and leadership advisor, author, and speaker. Over his 25+ years in business he's worked with 3,000+ business leaders at 250+ global and regional companies. Discover: https://matterco.co RO

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