| Every success starts with a decision. The | | | | are the two or even three decisions, you can |
| biggest waste of time, the biggest waste of | | | | make that will take your company, your life, |
| life, for most people is the decision they | | | | or your business, or whatever it may be, to a |
| need to make but haven't made because they | | | | completely new level. |
| can't make up their mind. | | | | |
| | | | For example, last year I moved from Japan, |
| There is power in a made-up mind. Every one | | | | where I had lived for 22 years, to Singapore. |
| of us is a decision maker. We have 50,000 to | | | | When I moved, one of the things I needed to |
| 100,000 thoughts a day. | | | | do was to make up my mind about where I |
| | | | wanted to live. That decision was going to |
| Consider executives. During the year these | | | | affect every waking moment, every sleeping |
| men and women have to make hundreds, | | | | moment of my entire life in Singapore, |
| thousands, maybe tens of thousands of | | | | because that is where I was going to be |
| decisions. If they give equal value to every | | | | spending all my time. So I put an incredible |
| decision, no decision is that important. | | | | amount of time into making the decision about |
| | | | where I wanted to live. I looked at 47 houses |
| They may give equal time to a $1 million | | | | before I found one that was going to be |
| decision, a $100 decision, or a $10 decision | | | | exactly the right environment for me. That |
| as to a $100 million decision or a $1 billion | | | | was a decision that was worth spending a lot |
| decision. | | | | of time on. |
| | | | |
| Let's have fewer decisions that have to be | | | | Then it came time for me to get a local cell |
| made. Let's resolve to make fewer decisions. | | | | phone because I was now living in a new |
| | | | country. I spent exactly zero hours, zero |
| There are going to be more-important | | | | minutes, and zero seconds on selecting a new |
| decisions, and there are going to be | | | | cell phone. |
| monumental decisions. There are going to be | | | | |
| such big decisions that, as you look back on | | | | How did I do that? I told my assistant, "Get |
| them, you will say the decision was worth | | | | me a cell phone." She asked, "What type?" I |
| making; you'll say that was the decision that | | | | said, "I really don't care; you figure it |
| leveraged the results of the company. | | | | out." |
| | | | |
| Very few people understand the importance of | | | | What you want is to hire the best. One of the |
| making fewer decisions. You really need to | | | | decisions you make is to get employees who |
| start at the beginning of the year, and | | | | are better than you at some things. |
| figure out what is the one decision, or what | | | | |