The #1 Leadership Mistake: Quick Decisions!
Combining one of the following words: Haste, Swift, Impulse, Rash, Quick…with the word “Decision” often leads to disaster.
Worse yet they represent weakness in character. According to my friend Phil Eastman, the seven elements of character are: wisdom, temperance, justice, courage, faith, hope and love.
Proverbs 20:18 “Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.” esv
Example #1
I once heard a man in a role of significant responsibility and trust say to me, “Jim, we are going to act swiftly and decisively.” It sounded like courage but as I watched the results, one mistake rolled into another creating a large snowballing disaster where many people where hurt. Looking back, he was not well enough informed with the facts and exasperated the situation by acting too quickly.
Example #2
One day I was late for an appointment. I pushed the garage door opener and began to back out my big red truck. The next thing I knew, I heard and felt a loud crunch. I destroyed my wife’s little Toyota Corolla sitting in the driveway. When you act too quickly you forget the most basic of things. Thank goodness a child was not in the driveway!
Example #3
“87% of business and church start-up mistakes happen in the Conception Phase!” I will never forget those words. They were spoken to me as I was preparing my church planting future. Life, business, and ministry have at least one thing in common. They each have a life cycle: conception, prenatal, birth, growth, maturity, decline, and death. The moral of this instruction is “starting too soon is most often fatal!” The Conception Phase for a child in the womb, a business being planned, or a ministry being dreamed is the most important. Get that wrong and the rest is history.
Slow down. Have mentors. Get counsel. Create a healthy team you enjoy. Don’t compromise what you know deep inside! Plan well. Work in your life. Work on your relationships. Work on your ministry. Work on your business. Not just in it!
