With an eye to the reality of potential long-term consequences, I have been exploring several questions that may be useful when making decisions – questions that we can ask ourselves before we make or implement a decision.
As we all know far too well, poor decisions and mistakes affect the lives of others - and sometimes the consequences can have a lasting effect. The same thing goes for good decisions. A positive decision can favorably impact a wide circle of people and even create a beneficial legacy for those impacted.
With these factors in mind, this week I am pondering the question, “Is the decision worth fighting for, or should we simply walk away?”
Sometimes we have the conviction that a decision should be implemented - and yet those who supervise us or the team we are leading don’t agree (or both!). In such instances we need to realize that we will burn up a ton of relational capital if we fight to proceed in spite of the opposition (and such capital is not easy to accumulate!). That is why we ask ourselves, is it worth it?
If the decision goes well, it may be worth the relational price tag – and we may actually gain additional support for future decisions. If it doesn’t work out, we may have a tough time recovering – and in some cases we may not.
I think the point of this question is to help us ponder the consequences of insisting on our own sense of direction when we are opposed. It is not as though we need to wait until it is actually popular (click to read more); rather, we must instead count the cost and decide if we want to put our chips down on the table, and if so, how many chips are at risk…
And that is why it is helpful to ponder the question, “Is the decision worth fighting for, or should we simply walk away?”