June 23, 2025

The Confidence Crisis: Why Smart Business Owners Make Poor Decisions and How to Fix It

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We expose the hidden epidemic plaguing successful business owners: the confidence crisis that leads to poor decision-making, procrastination, and missed opportunities. You'll discover why intelligence and experience don't guarantee good business decisions, and learn the "Confident Decision Framework" that eliminates second-guessing and accelerates profitable growth. This episode reveals strategies your competition isn't using to build unshakeable confidence in their business choices.

Powerful Business Strategies is broadcast live Mondays at 12 Noon ET Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Powerful Business Strategies is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W four CY

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Radio or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments

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should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for

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choosing W FOURCY Radio.

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Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out

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that everything you have ever learned about growing your business

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is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right

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way to grow your business by learning business and financial

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strategies that your competition isn't doing. And now here's your host.

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President of NeXTSTEP CFO Michael Barbarita and joining Michael for

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today's show as an executive moderator is chooky obia.

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Yes, yes, yes, this is schukin. I believe that gratitude

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is undefeated and growth is about the next step. It

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is an honor for me to collaborate with my good

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friend Michael. Michael, how are.

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You fantastic, chekey, so at Chicky said, My name is

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Michael baberta president of Next Step CFO, and next Step

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CFO is a fractional CFO and strategic im limitation firm.

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Business owners hire us to double and triple their profit

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using business and financial strategies that their competition isn't doing,

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and our vision is to ensure overwhelmed business owners achieve

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consistent profits that lead to time, freedom to build a legacy,

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and live the life they design. Our mission is dedicated

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to guiding small business owners to leveraging their time, exploding

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their profits, and building a meaningful legacy. You know, this

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show powerful business Strategies in our book of the same name,

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is a step toward accomplishing that vision and mission. So

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with that'd like to hand it back to my co

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author and moderator for the showy Obia, Michael.

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It's funny. So look, I'm feeling very energized by today's

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episode because we are discussing a topic that I would

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say it's near and dear to a lot of business

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owners and the psychology behind that. So the title for

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today's episode is the confidence Crisis. Why smart business owners

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make poor decisions and how to fix it. So really

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enthralled by the insights that Michael's prepared. So look, folks,

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quick disclaimer, Michael and I are both affiliated with a

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number of different organizations, and I currently serve as a

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managing director of business development for Better Price, a global

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business focused law firm. In addition to that, it's truly

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an honor to collaborate with Michael to moderate these business

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roundtables that we do really coast to coast, and we

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document the insights from these roundtables as part of our

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book called Powerful Business Strategies. Please note that the views

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expressed on this show are personal views based on those

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successful experience is with the roundtables and beyond and look,

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my mission as the fearless moderators to ask the right

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questions to help you the listener, learn the best strategies

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that the competition isn't doing. With that, back over to Michael.

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Thank you, Jicky. So, I want to point out that

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we decided to expand on last week's show about decision making,

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so a's kind of a public service warning. There is

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similar content, but there's also an expansion of that content

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in this show. So I wanted to point that out.

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But I want to stop. I have a question for you. So,

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what's the difference between a business owner who confidently makes

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million dollar decisions and one who agonizes over a five

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hundred dollar purchase for weeks. Well, it's not intelligence, it's

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not experience, and it's not even how much money they

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have in the bank. It's something more fundamental, and it's

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costing most business owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in

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missed opportunity every single year. So today we're going to

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expose the confidence crisis that's secretly sabotaging even the smartest entrepreneurs.

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And I'm going to give you the exact framework that

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transforms hesitant decision makers into confident business leaders who consistently

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make profitable choices. And if you've ever fouled yourself paralyzed

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by a business decision, questioning your instincts or watching competitives

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seese opportunities while you deliberate, this episode will change everything

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for you. So let's dive in. So I want to

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start with a story that might sound familiar. David owns

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a successful construction company. He's been in business fifteen years.

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He's got twenty employees, generates about three million in annual sales,

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and by any measure, David is successful. But here's what's

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happening behind the scenes. David spent three weeks agonizing over

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whether to invest fifteen thousand dollars in a piece of

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equipment that would save his company in a year. So

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three weeks so while he was deliberating, his main competitor

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bought similar equipment and started underbidding him on projects.

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That is fascinating, Michael, I mean, oh wow, So look,

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what do you think was really holding David back from

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taking that leap of faith.

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Well, it certainly wasn't the money. David had the cash,

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it wasn't the math, the ROI was pretty clear. But

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what David was experiencing is what I call confidence crisis,

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and it's an it's an epidemic among many business owners.

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So here's what most people don't understand confidence in business.

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It isn't about feeling good or being positive. Business confidence

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is the ability to make decisions quickly and decisively based

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on sound information, even when you don't have all the answers.

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And the problem is that most business owners have been

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conditioned to overthink every decision and taught that good business

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people are cautious that they analyze everything to death and

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that they never take risks. And this is just not

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the right way in today's fast moving economy. The biggest

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risk is not taking risks. The biggest danger is not

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making decisions quickly enough. While you're analyzing your competitors, I'm sorry,

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While you're analyzing your decision making, your competitors are acting,

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while you're researching, opportunities are disappearing. And I see this

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Christ's confidence crisis manifesting essentially in three what I call

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devastating ways. First that analysis paralysis. You know, business owners

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get so caught up and gathering more information that they

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never actually make decisions. They research and research and research,

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but they just never pull the trigger. And second is perfection,

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and perfection is some procrastination where they wait for the

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perfect solution, that perfect timing, the perfect circumstance, But the

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truth is perfect never comes. Good enough implemented immediately beats

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perfect implemented too late every single time. And third comparison confusion.

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They look at what other businesses are doing and second

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guess their own instincts. They see competitives trying something new

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and panic thinking that they would that they should do

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the same thing. Even if it doesn't fit their business model.

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I think a lot of our listeners are curious about this.

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So what's the cost of this confidence crisis for the

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typical business owner?

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Yeah, it can be staggering, chiki. So let me give

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you a quick example. The average business owner that we

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work with is probably missing out on at least two

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hundred grand and annual revenue because of poor decision making.

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Not bad decisions either you know, or you know, slow

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decisions or no decisions at all. And if you think

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about it, while David was debating about the fifteen thousand

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dollars equipment purchase, he lost three projects to his competitor.

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And these three projects where there were seventy five grand that

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would turn into twenty two thousand in profits. So his

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three weeks of indecision caused him nearly five times the

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price of the equipment that he was worried about buying.

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And here's the real kicker. After implementing the confident decision framework,

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David not only bought the equipment, but he also invested

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in two additional pieces and expanded into a new service area,

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and his revenue increased by about two hundred grand in

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the following year.

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That's an incredible transformation. Michael Wile, can you give us

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a little preview on what this Confident Decision Framework looks like.

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Sure, So, the framework has four core components, and I'll

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break those down in detail throughout the show today. But

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first is what I call the seventy two hour rule.

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Second is the eighty percent information principle, Third is the

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cost of inaction analysis, and fourth is the minimum viable

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decision process. Now, these four elements, they actually work in

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concept to eliminate the confidence crisis and transform any business

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owner into a decisive leader who can consistently make profitable choices.

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And so we're going to dive deep into each one

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of these today and I'll guarantee you that by the

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end of the show, you'll have a completely different approach

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to business decision making. So let's dive into that first

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component that I talked about in the Confident Decision Framework,

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and that first component is the set what I call

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the seventy two hour rule. And this is really something

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if you could commit to, will change the game in

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your decisions. And it directly contradicts what most business experts

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will tell you because traditional business advice says to take

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your time, gather all the information, sleep on it. And

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this approach might have worked in nineteen eighty five when

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business was a lot slower, but it's literally business suicide.

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In twenty twenty five. Markets move too fast, opportunities disappear

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too quickly, and opportunity and competitives are just too aggressive

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for slow decision making. The seventy two hour Rules states

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that any business decision that takes longer than seventy two

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hours to implement should should be made. It should be

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made within seventy two hours. So notice I didn't say

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implement it, I said decided. So here's here's why this works.

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So most business decisions are reversible. You can try something,

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measure the results, and adjust. The few decisions that are

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truly irreversible, like selling your company, are certain employee decisions.

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Those deserve more time. But ninety five percent of business

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decisions can be tested, modified, or completely reversed if they

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don't work out. That's a beautiful thing.

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You know.

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We talked about testing a lot, and it's one of

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the best pieces of ammunition a business owner has. They

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can test everything. So let me give you a real example.

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A restaurant spent two months debating whether they add delivery service.

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So two months, that's an annoyed period of time. During

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those two months, by the way, three competitives launch delivery

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and watch, they watched potential customers ordering from them instead.

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And so when he implemented the seventy two hour rule,

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he decided within seventy two hours to test delivery with

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just dinner service just Thursday through Sunday, just within a

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three mile radius. And it was it was a minimum

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viable decision that he could implement quickly and adjust based

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on the results. Well, the test happened to be successful,

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so he expanded to lunch, excuse to lunch, increased the

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delivery radius. But here's the key. Even if the test

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had failed, he would have only lost a small amount

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of money and gained valuable market intelligence. So instead of

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two months of analysis paralysis, he had two weeks of

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real market.

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Dare Mike was interesting, right? You know, I can already

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hear some listeners thinking, wow, I mean, but what if

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I make the wrong decision quickly? I mean, how do

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you address that concern?

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Well, that's exactly the right question so to me, and

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it reveals the fundamental misunderstanding about business decision making. Most

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business owners are trying to make the right decision, but

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that's the wrong goal entirely. The goal is not to

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make the right decision. The goal is to make decisions right.

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And there's a huge difference. Making the right decision applies

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there's one perfect choice and if you just analyze long enough,

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you'll find it. Well, that's a myth. In most businesses situations,

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there are potential, multiply multiple potentially successful paths, and the

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key is picking one and executing it brilliantly. So making

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decisions right means having a systematic process for making choices quickly,

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implementing them effectively, measuring the results, and adjusting course based

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on what you learn. And he's a perfect example that

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I mentioned last week Netflix when they decided to shift

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from DVD by mail to streaming. Was that the right decision? Well,

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we know now that it was, but at the time

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it was highly controversial. Many investors thought it was a mistake,

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and some customers were actually furious. But Netflix didn't wait

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until they were one hundred percent certain that this raming

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would work. They made the decision based on the information

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they had, and they implemented it decisively. They measured customer response,

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and they adjusted their approach on what they learned. That's

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making decisions right, not making the right decisions. So now

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let me share the second component, the eighty percent information principle.

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This principal state that you should make decisions when you

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have eighty percent of the information you think you need.

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Got one hundred Why eighty because the last twenty percent

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of information usually takes eighty percent of the time to gather,

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and by that time, you know it's a lost opportunity.

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And so I worked with a client who wanted to

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expand into new market. He spent four months researching demographics, competition,

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local regulations, customer preferences, just about everything you can think of,

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and by you know, that was admirable. But by the

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time he finished his research and felt he was ready

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to move, two competitors had already entered that same market

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and captured most of the early adopters. And here's what

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we should have done. We should have gathered the essential

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eighty percent of information in two weeks, made the decision

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to test the market with a small pilot and learned

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that we're amanding twenty percent through actual market experience through

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the testing. So the information you get from real customers

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spending real money is infinitely more valuable than theoretical research.

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I could not agree more with that. Now, Michael, look,

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this is really challenging conventional wisdom, and that's part of

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what we do here in the show. Right, Can you

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give us a practical framework for determining when we have

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that crucial eighty percent of information?

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Yes, well, here's here's like a little eighty percent information checklist.

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You're ready to decide when you can answer these five questions?

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Number one, what is the worst case realistic scenario? And

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can we survive? Notice I said realistic not possible. It's

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realistic that you know, it's realistic that a medior can

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hit your business, but it's not realistic. So Two, what's

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the best case scenario? Realistic scenario that is, and it

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isn't worth pursuing. Again, realistic is the key. You could

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theoretically become the next Amazon. But what's realistically achievable in

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the next twelve months? Three? What would be different if

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we had perfect information? If the answer is not much,

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then you probably have enough information to decide. Four what's

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the cost of waiting another month to decide? Including opportunity costs,

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competitive risks, and market changes. And then five, can we

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test this decision on a small scale before fully committing,

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And if yes, then the risk of deciding quickly is

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really minimal. And by the way, testing can happen virtually

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every single time. And if you can answer these five

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questions with confidence, you have eighty percent. You know you

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have your eighty percent. Everything else is perfectionism or masquerading thoroughnus.

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So let me quickly tell you about Sarah, who owns

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a marketing agency. She wanted to add video production services,

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but spent six months researching equipment, training programs, pricing models,

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and competition. During those six months, she turned away four

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clients who needed video services. But using our framework, here's

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which she should have done. Partnered with a freelance video

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producer for the first few projects, tested the market demand,

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and then decided whether to invest in the equipment and

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training based on actual custom response. And if you know,

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she would have generated revenue immediately as a result and

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learned that her customers actually wanted a much better way

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or much better long term decision based on real market

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feedback rather than the theory that you can agonize over.

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You know, Michael. Before we move on to our next segment,

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what's one action step listeners can take right now to

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start implementing the seventy two hour rule and the eighty

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percent information principle.

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So here's the homework on that. Take of one decision

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you've been putting off. Maybe it's hiring somebody, Maybe it's

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investing in new technology. Maybe it's expanding a service offering

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or raising prices, and set it's timer for seventy two

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hours from now. During those seventy two hours, gather information

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using my five question framework. But when the timer goes off,

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you must make the decision. No extensions, No, just a

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few more days, decide, implement, and learn from the results.

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That's how you build decision making confidence. So before we

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continue this discussion, we're going to take a ninety second break. Hey,

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their business owners, let me ask you something. Are you

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tied of blending in with your competitors, frustrated with slow

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growth and slim margins? Well, I've got news for you.

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You've ever learned about growing your business is wrong, But

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don't worry. I'm here to let you in on a

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secret weapon. Your position of market dominance. It's what sets

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you apart, makes you irreplaceable and has customers lining up

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at your door. My name is Michael barber Rita from

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Next Step CFO. I know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael,

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How do I find my position of market dominance? Well,

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that's exactly why we've created our game changing implebitation program

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called next Step to Market Dominance in just ninety days,

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00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.519
will guide you step by step to a position of

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market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch.

305
00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.680
By crafting a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer,

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by building a strategy that turns you into the go

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to expert in your field. Now this is in theory.

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These are battle tests and strategies that have helped businesses

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like you as double, triple, and quadruple their revenue. Don't

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let another quarter go by struggling to standar out. It's

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time to dominate your market period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot

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00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.240
net forward slash contact. Fill out the form and in

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00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:13.160
the message section put the word dominate or call us

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00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:16.799
at seven eight one three two six three A two two.

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That's next step CFO dot net forward slash Contact or

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00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:24.759
call us at seven eight one three two six three eighteen.

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00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:27.519
Welcome back to Powerful Business Strategies and remember you can

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go to Powerful Business Strategies dot com for any of

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00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:35.519
our replays. Now, let's explore the third component of our

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confident decision framework, the cost of an action analysis. This

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is where most business owners really completely missed the boat.

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So when evaluating decision, most people only consider the cost

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of taking action. They think about what might go wrong,

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how much money they might lose, what problems they might create,

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but they completely ignore the cost of not taking at

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Some people call this opportunity cost. This is a massive

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blind spot that's costing business owners a lot of money.

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Every day you don't make a decision, is that day

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competitors might be getting ahead, market conditions might be changing,

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or opportunities might be disappearing. And let me give you

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a quick example of plumbing contractor was considering investing fifty

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thousand dollars in GPS tracking and scheduling software for his trucks.

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He kept focusing on the fifty thousand dollars cost and

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worrying about whether the software would really improve efficientcay and

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in the meantime, he wasn't calculating the cost of not

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making this investment. And here's what was happening. His trucks

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were spending an extra thirty minutes per day driving between

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jobs due to poor rouding. With ten trucks, that's five

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hours of wasted labor daily, or about thirteen hundred dollars

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per year at seventy five dollars an hour, that's ninety

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seven five hundred dollars in lost productivity annually. Plus poor

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scheduling was causing him to mis emergency service calls, which

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typically pay double rates. He was losing at least fifty

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high value emergency calls per year, which was approximately fifteen

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grand and lost revenue. So while he was worried about

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spending fifty grand, his indecision was actually costing him over

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one hundred and twelve thousand per year. So the real

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question wasn't whether he could afford to buy software, it

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was whether he could afford not to buy it.

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Michael, we've got a question from a listener. And by

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the way, I mean a lot of the insights that

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you're generating today, I mean stuff is really driving conversations.

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So look, how can business owners systematically identify those costs

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of inaction?

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No, it's a good question. So I developed what I

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call the Inaction impact Calculator. It has four categories. First,

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direct revenue loss. What sales are you missing by not

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taking the action? This could be customers going to you know,

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customers going to compet is maybe market share you're not

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capturing that others are, or premium pricing you're not commanding.

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Second is efficiency waste? What's the cost of continuing inefficient process?

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This includes wasted time, duplicated outfit, manual processes that could

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be automated, or resources that aren't optimized. Third is competitive disadvantage.

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What advantages are your competitors gaining while you delivering? Are

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they capturing additional market shap building customer loyalty? Are they

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establishing themselves that go to provider in your space because

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they have something more up to date? Fourth opportunity to decay?

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How is the opportunity itself changing over time? Market shift,

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customer preferences evolve, regulations change, and what looks attracted today

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might be much less appealing in six months. So let

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me share another real example. A retailer was considering launching

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an e commerce site, and she kept delaying the decision

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because she was worried about the complexity and cost using

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the impact of the inaction impact calculating here's what she discovered.

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Direct revenue loss was turning away approximately twenty customers per

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month who asked if they could order online. The average

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order value was one hundred and fifty dollars, so she

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was losing about three thousand dollars monthly in direct sales,

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or thirty six thousand a year. Then there was efficiency way.

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She was spending ten hours per week managing phone orders

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that could be automated online at a seventy five dollars

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an hour, of value at thirty nine grand per year,

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and wasted wasted time. Competitive disadvantages took Competitives had launched

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e commerce sites in the past year, and they were

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gaining market share, especially among younger customers. Opportunity Decay COVID

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had accelerated the shift to online shopping, but as things normalized,

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the urgency for customers to find online alternatives was dipping.

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Total cost of inaction over seventy five thousand per year,

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while the e commerce investment was only fifteen thousand. So

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once she saw these numbers, the decision became obvious. She

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launched her site within thirty days and recovered her investment

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in less than three months. Now, let's talk about the

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fourth and final component, the minimum viable decision process. This

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concept is borrowed from the startup world, but it applies

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to every business decision. So instead of trying to make

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perfect decisions, make minimum viable decisions the smallest possible choice

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that will give you real market feedback and move your

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business forward. And here's how that works. So instead of

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asking what's the perfect solution, ask what's the smallest step

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we can take to test our assumptions? Is that word again?

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And learn from real results. I had a client who

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wanted to expand into commercial cleaning, but was paralyzed by

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all the variables like equipment needs, staffing requirements, insurance cause,

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marketing approaches. We could have spent months analyzing every aspect.

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Instead we used a minimum viable decision approach. We identified

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one small commercial client that he could service with his

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existing equipment and staff, just to test the waters. One client,

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one building, one month trial. That single test taught him

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more about commercial cleaning than six months of research would have,

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and he learned that he learned what equipment he really needed,

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what pricing really worked, what challenges he was going to face,

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and whether he'd enjoyed that type of work, whether he

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was willing to change his business model to that type

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of work, and so based on that real experience, he

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was able to make an informed decision and full expansion.

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And the test caused him almost nothing but gave him

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this valuable market intelligence.

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Michael, I mean this minimum viable decision approach. I mean,

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it's fascinating. It sounds like it could really apply to

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all business situations.

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If not, you know.

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Every single business situation. Candidly, I'm now, can you give

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us a framework for designing these tests?

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Great? Yeah, sure, so here's my minimum viable decision framework.

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So Step one is define your core assumption. What do

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00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:28.079
you believe will happen if you take this action and

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00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:33.359
be specific? Step two, design the smallest possible test. What's

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the minimum investment of time, money, and resources that will

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give you meaningful data? Step three set clear success metrics.

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How will you know if the test work? What specific

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results are you looking for? Step four establish a timeline.

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How long will you run the test? Don't let it

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drag on? Step five, plan your scale up strategy. If

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the test succeeds, what's your plan for expanding If it fails,

435
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what will you try next? So let me give you

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00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:09.799
a quick example. A restaurant owner wanted to add catering service,

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00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:14.559
but was overwhelmed by the logistics. Using our framework, core assumption,

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00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:19.960
local businesses would pay premium prices for convenient, high quality

439
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:26.039
catered lunches. Minimum tests offer catering to just three existing

440
00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:31.839
customers using current menu items for two weeks. Success metrics

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00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:34.440
at least two of these of the three customers placed

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repeat orders, and profit maatching is at least forty percent.

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The timeline two weeks for initial tests, then two weeks

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to analyze results, and the scale up strategy. If successful,

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expand to ten customers and develop catering specific menu items. Well,

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the test cost less than five hundred bucks provided clear

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00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:00.599
evidence that catering would be profitable. Based on those results,

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00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:04.240
she confidently invested in expanding the service and generating an

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addition one hundred and fifty grand in revenue the following year. Wow.

450
00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:11.079
So, as we wrap up the segments, what's the biggest

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00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:14.680
mindset shift Michael, that you think business owners need to

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make in order to implement this condition confident decision framework.

453
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Well, I think I think the biggest shift is moaning

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from avoiding mistakes to learning quickly. See, most business owners

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are trying to avoid making the wrong decisions. Yeah, but

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00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:40.319
that's kind of impossible because every successful business owner makes

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hundreds of wrong decisions. And so the key is making

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00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:48.519
wrong decisions quickly and cheaply and learning from them and

459
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.640
then ad just in course, Netflix made the wrong decision

460
00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:56.640
about quick Stir, Amazon made the wrong decision about the firephone.

461
00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:00.200
Google made the wrong decision about Google Plus, but they

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made those decisions quickly, learned from the results, and moved

463
00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:09.160
on to better decisions. And that's what confident decision makers do.

464
00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:14.519
They optimize for learning speed, not decision perfection.

465
00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:18.559
Michael, you're saying, yeah, I was gonna say, are you

466
00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:19.960
saying perfection is overrated?

467
00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:20.279
Michael?

468
00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:20.799
That was that?

469
00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:24.799
What I what you do? That's the foot that's actually

470
00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:27.880
I'm trying to make. You said it very succactly. You

471
00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.880
didn't have to do it. I was showing it. So

472
00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:33.119
before I continue to discussion, we're going to take a

473
00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:36.799
ninety second break. Hey there, business owners, let me ask

474
00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:40.599
you something. Are you tied of blending in with your competitors?

475
00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:44.279
Frustrated with slow growth and slim margins? Well, I've got

476
00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:47.640
news for you. Everything you've ever learned about growing your

477
00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:51.799
business is wrong. But don't worry. I'm here to let

478
00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:55.559
you in on a secret weapon, your position of market dominance.

479
00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:59.240
It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable, and has

480
00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:02.799
customers lining up at your door. My name is Michael

481
00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:06.480
Babarrita from Next Step CFO. I know what you're thinking.

482
00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:10.039
Sounds great, Michael, How do I find my position of

483
00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:13.759
market dominance? Well, that's exactly why we've created our game

484
00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:18.519
changing impleventation program called Next Step to Market Dominance. In

485
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:20.960
just ninety days, we'll guide you step by step to

486
00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:24.599
a position of market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths

487
00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:28.240
that competitors can't touch. By crafting a message that resonates

488
00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:31.480
deeply with your ideal customer, by building a strategy that

489
00:31:31.559 --> 00:31:34.039
turns you into the go to expert in your field.

490
00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:38.200
Now this is in theory. These are battle tests strategies

491
00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:41.720
that have helped businesses like yours double, triple and quadruple

492
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:46.279
their revenue. Don't let another quarter go by struggling to standout.

493
00:31:46.359 --> 00:31:51.400
It's time to dominate your market. Period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO

494
00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:55.119
dot net forward slash contact. Fill out the form and

495
00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:58.880
in the message section put the word dominate or call

496
00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:02.920
us at seven one three two six three A two two.

497
00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:07.319
That's NeXTSTEP CFO dot net, forward slash contact or call

498
00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:10.599
us at seven eight one three two six three A

499
00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:14.640
two two. Welcome back to Powerful Business Strategies and remember

500
00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:20.359
you can catch any replay at Powerful Business Strategies dot com.

501
00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:23.200
So now I want to address the little elephant, big

502
00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:27.119
elephant in the room, and why are so many intelligent,

503
00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:31.079
experienced business owners struggling with this confidence crisis. It's not

504
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:34.440
because they're not smart enough or experienced enough. It's because

505
00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:39.000
they've been programmed with the wrong decision making models. So

506
00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:44.519
most businesses are Most business education that you learn teaches

507
00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:48.119
you to minimize risk, but in today's economy, the biggest

508
00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:51.319
risk is moving too slowly with all the speed that's

509
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:57.200
available with AI, with all the technology, and traditional business

510
00:32:58.279 --> 00:33:02.000
business schools teach exhaust of analysis, but exhaust of analysis

511
00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:06.680
leads to exhaust of exhausted opportunities. And here's what's really happening.

512
00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:10.200
We live in the information rich but insight poor world.

513
00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:14.200
Business owners think more information will give them more confidence,

514
00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:16.960
but actually it does the opposite, because too much information

515
00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:24.160
creates confusion and analysis paralysis. I call this information overwhelmed syndrome.

516
00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:26.960
The more data you gather, the more variables you discover,

517
00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:30.839
the more complexity you uncover, and the less simply, the

518
00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:34.000
less confident you are about making any decision at all.

519
00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:36.039
And so let me tell you about James, who owns

520
00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:40.160
a social media a social sorry digital marketing agency. He

521
00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:43.960
wanted to add social media management service to his offering,

522
00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:48.400
so he researched forty seven different social media management tools,

523
00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:52.319
read twenty three industry reports, surveyed one hundred and fifty

524
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:56.720
six potential customers, and analyze thirty one competitor pricing models.

525
00:33:57.480 --> 00:34:00.839
After three months of this exhausting research, knew more about

526
00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:04.240
social media management than most people in the industry. But

527
00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:07.480
you know what happened. He was more confused and when

528
00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:10.559
he started, every piece of information seemed to contradict something

529
00:34:10.639 --> 00:34:14.440
else he'd learned. Every tool had pros and cons every

530
00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:17.679
pricing model had advantages and disadvantages.

531
00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:22.239
Remarkable. So how did James break through this information overwhelm? Michael,

532
00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:24.480
I know overwhelm is something that we talk about quite often.

533
00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:29.000
Oh yeah, so he implemented the good enough plus speed principle.

534
00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:33.199
So instead of trying to make the perfect decision, he

535
00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:38.440
focused on making a good enough decision quickly, then improving

536
00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:41.800
it through real world experience. And here's what he did.

537
00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:46.239
He picked the social media management tool that met eighty

538
00:34:46.280 --> 00:34:50.000
percent of his requirements, even though it wasn't perfect. He

539
00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:53.400
set pricing based on three competitive examples, not thirty one.

540
00:34:54.440 --> 00:34:58.280
He launched with five existing clients who had already expressed

541
00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:02.039
an interest, so he tested it, and within thirty days,

542
00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:06.800
James had real customers using the service and real feedback

543
00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:11.920
about what worked and what didn't. That real world experience

544
00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.679
taught him more in one month than three months of

545
00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:19.519
research half But he has the really important part. The

546
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:23.920
perfect tool he originally wanted to choose became available six

547
00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:27.360
months later, and by then James had been running successful

548
00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:30.559
social media campaigns for half a year and had refined

549
00:35:30.599 --> 00:35:34.239
his process. He had happy customers and had generated additional

550
00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:38.679
seventy five grand in revenue. Perfect came too late. Good

551
00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:43.679
enough plus speed won the race. Now, let me share

552
00:35:43.719 --> 00:35:49.880
the most counterintuitive insight about confident decision. Confident decision making,

553
00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:52.920
the goal is to not increase your success rate. The

554
00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:57.039
goal is to increase your decision making speed while maintaining

555
00:35:57.079 --> 00:36:01.719
an acceptable success rate. Most business owners think they need

556
00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.000
to be right ninety percent of the time. That's kind

557
00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:07.800
of that, that's wrong thinking. If you're right ninety percent

558
00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:09.840
of the time, you're probably not taking enough risk or

559
00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:13.840
moving fast enough. The most successful entrepreneurs I know are

560
00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:16.119
right about sixty to seventy percent of the time, but

561
00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:19.119
they make decisions so much faster than their competitors, and

562
00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:23.960
they end up winning much more often. They fail forward fast,

563
00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:28.920
learn faster, and it just faster. Think about it this way.

564
00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:33.440
If you make one decision per month and you're right

565
00:36:34.079 --> 00:36:37.760
ninety percent of the time, you'll have about eleven successes

566
00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:41.159
per year. But if you make one decision per week

567
00:36:41.639 --> 00:36:44.960
and you're right seventy percent of the time, you'll have

568
00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:49.719
about thirty six successes per year. Speed beats perfection every

569
00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:51.159
single time.

570
00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:55.360
That is such a fascinating perspective. And again Michael's credits

571
00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:57.239
are like the way your CFO mind works. I just

572
00:36:57.280 --> 00:36:59.880
love the way you quantified that is it leads to

573
00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:03.320
number of our successes per year. So look, can you

574
00:37:03.400 --> 00:37:08.039
give us a practical set of techniques from making faster

575
00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:11.519
decisions without sacrificing quality I can.

576
00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:15.320
So here are the five speed techniques for confident decision making.

577
00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:20.559
So Technique number one is the predecision framework. So before

578
00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:24.440
you're faced with a decision, establish a criteria for similar decisions.

579
00:37:24.440 --> 00:37:28.880
For example, any marketing investment under five thousand dollars that

580
00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:31.559
could generate at least three times the HOURI within six

581
00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:35.920
months gets an approval. Having pre established criteria eliminates the

582
00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:41.199
need to reanalyze basic questions every time. Technique number two

583
00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:48.320
the advisory board shortcut. Identify three trusted advisors who understand

584
00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:51.440
your business when facing a decision, get their input within

585
00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:56.159
twenty four hours. Three experienced perspectives can often provide better

586
00:37:56.199 --> 00:38:01.920
insight than a week of solo analysis. The ten ten

587
00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:06.599
ten rule Ask yourself, how will I feel about the

588
00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:11.400
decision in ten minutes, ten months, and ten years. We

589
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:13.599
have to make visionary in our thinking. That's why the

590
00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:17.440
ten years is in there, and this helps separate decisions

591
00:38:17.480 --> 00:38:21.679
with short term consequences from those with long term impacts.

592
00:38:22.280 --> 00:38:28.079
Technique them before the reversibility test. Ask if this doesn't

593
00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:33.039
work out, how easily can it we reverse or modify

594
00:38:33.079 --> 00:38:36.679
this decision? If it's easily reversal, make the decisions quickly.

595
00:38:37.320 --> 00:38:42.440
Only truly irreversible decisions deserve any extended analysis at any

596
00:38:42.519 --> 00:38:47.400
extended time. Technique five is the opportunity cost clock for

597
00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:51.199
every decision. It's not a mental clock that tracks how

598
00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:54.519
much the delay is costing you. If the cost of

599
00:38:54.599 --> 00:38:58.639
delay exceeds the cost of a wrong decision, to speed

600
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:01.960
and let me give you a real example of these

601
00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:07.239
techniques in action. So a construction company was considering whether

602
00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:12.559
to bid on large municipal project on a one single

603
00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:19.199
municipal project, and normally he might spend weeks analyzing this opportunity. Instead,

604
00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:24.239
he used the speed technique red search this predecision framework,

605
00:39:24.239 --> 00:39:27.039
he'd already established that any project over five hundred grand

606
00:39:27.039 --> 00:39:30.760
needed to be needed to meet specific criteria with a

607
00:39:31.039 --> 00:39:34.599
minimum margin of fifteen percent, payment terms of thirty or better,

608
00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:37.639
thirty days or better than it is, and a completion

609
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:42.360
timeline of six months or less. Advisory board shortcut. He

610
00:39:42.440 --> 00:39:46.679
called three trusted colleagues who had experience with municipal work

611
00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:50.639
and got their insights within twenty four hours the ten

612
00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:54.920
ten ten rule. In ten minutes, he'd feel excited about

613
00:39:54.960 --> 00:39:58.679
the opportunity. In ten months. If successful, it would establish

614
00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:02.079
credibility for future menu municipal work, and in ten years

615
00:40:02.199 --> 00:40:05.079
it could be the foundation of a new revenue stream

616
00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:09.639
reversibility test. If he won the bid but it went poorly,

617
00:40:09.960 --> 00:40:12.599
he could choose not to bid on similar projects in

618
00:40:12.639 --> 00:40:15.599
the future. That's simple. The risk was contained to this

619
00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:22.559
one project opportunity cost clock. While he was deliberating, the

620
00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:27.599
bidding deadline was approaching, and other contractors were likely developing

621
00:40:27.719 --> 00:40:30.840
stronger proposals than the result. He made the decision to

622
00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:33.559
bid within forty eight hours instead of the usual two weeks.

623
00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:37.039
He won the project, completed it successfully, and it led

624
00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:40.920
to three additional municipal contracts worth over two million bucks.

625
00:40:41.519 --> 00:40:45.639
Wow. Look, Michael, I mean these techniques are really intriguing.

626
00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:47.599
In five, we've got some questions from listeners. I'll just

627
00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:51.039
pick up on one question here. So, these techniques, they

628
00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:54.480
seem like they would apply to both big and small decisions.

629
00:40:54.480 --> 00:40:57.880
But are there any category of decisions that should not

630
00:40:58.079 --> 00:40:59.920
use this fast decision approach?

631
00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:04.960
Well, there are definitely decisions that deserve more time. So

632
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:07.320
that is an excellent question, and it's crucial to know

633
00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:12.119
the difference slowed down to what I call foundational decisions,

634
00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:15.960
so choices that will define your business for years to come.

635
00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:20.679
These include choosing your business model, selecting long term partners,

636
00:41:21.400 --> 00:41:27.719
making major acquisitions or decisions involving significant debt or equity,

637
00:41:27.760 --> 00:41:30.519
and also if you're selling. I think that requires a

638
00:41:30.519 --> 00:41:35.719
lot of extra thought. But here's what surprises most people.

639
00:41:36.400 --> 00:41:40.719
Ninety five percent of business decisions are not foundation decisions.

640
00:41:40.760 --> 00:41:44.119
They are what I call learning decisions. These are choices

641
00:41:44.280 --> 00:41:48.760
that help you test, adjust, and improve your business incrementally.

642
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:53.719
The problem is is that most business owners treat learning

643
00:41:54.119 --> 00:42:00.519
decisions like foundation decisions. They spend foundation level time analyze

644
00:42:01.119 --> 00:42:05.760
decisions that should be made quickly and adjusted based on results.

645
00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:09.800
For example, choosing which accounting software to use is a

646
00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:13.679
learning decision, not a foundation decision. You can always switch

647
00:42:13.719 --> 00:42:16.880
software if it doesn't work out, but many business owners

648
00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:21.360
spend months researching accounting software options when they should spend

649
00:42:21.440 --> 00:42:24.760
that time. You actually using software to manage their finance

650
00:42:24.880 --> 00:42:27.519
is better. So here's my rule. If you can do

651
00:42:27.679 --> 00:42:31.280
the decision within ninety days without catastrophic consequences, it's a

652
00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:35.440
learning decision. Make it fast, implement it quickly, and adjust

653
00:42:35.440 --> 00:42:36.559
it based on results.

654
00:42:37.440 --> 00:42:39.960
Michael, as we wrap up this segment. What's the number

655
00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:46.079
one thing holding business owners back from really making confident decisions?

656
00:42:46.320 --> 00:42:52.280
Hmm, I'd say I'd say fear of judgments. See yeah,

657
00:42:52.559 --> 00:42:55.440
most business owners are afraid that if they make a

658
00:42:55.480 --> 00:43:00.760
decision that doesn't work out, they'll be judged as incompetent

659
00:43:01.239 --> 00:43:07.559
by employees, customers, or peers. But here's the truth. Your employees, customers, customers,

660
00:43:07.559 --> 00:43:11.159
and peers are watching how you handle uncertainty, not whether

661
00:43:11.199 --> 00:43:14.719
every decision turns out perfectly. You want to see leadership

662
00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:18.400
the sights of this and the ability to learn and adapt.

663
00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:23.320
A confident leader who makes decisions quickly and a just

664
00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:26.840
course when needed. It's just far more inspiring than a

665
00:43:27.159 --> 00:43:30.599
paralyzed perfectionist who never takes action because they're afraid of

666
00:43:30.599 --> 00:43:33.920
making mistakes. Your people don't need you to be perfect,

667
00:43:34.599 --> 00:43:39.000
they need you to be decisive. And as we wrap

668
00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:41.960
up today's show, let me summarize the key insights that

669
00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:48.639
can really improve and transform your decision making and your

670
00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:53.639
confidence starting today, First, we expose the confidence crisis that's

671
00:43:53.679 --> 00:43:58.239
costing business owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in missed opportunities.

672
00:43:58.920 --> 00:44:03.360
This isn't about personality or intelligence. It's about having the

673
00:44:03.440 --> 00:44:08.719
wrong decision framework. Second, we introduce the four components of

674
00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:12.400
the confident decision framework, the seventy two hour rule. Make

675
00:44:12.480 --> 00:44:15.239
decisions based on seventy two hours instead of letting them

676
00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:20.519
drag on indefinitely. Most business decisions are reversible, so speed

677
00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:26.519
beats perfection. The eighty percent information principle. Make decisions when

678
00:44:26.519 --> 00:44:29.159
you have eighty percent of the information you think you need.

679
00:44:29.639 --> 00:44:32.679
The last twenty percent usually takes eighty percent of the time,

680
00:44:33.039 --> 00:44:35.679
and often you know eighty percent of the time to

681
00:44:35.719 --> 00:44:41.000
compile and often doesn't change the decision anyway. The cost

682
00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:44.159
of an action analysis always calculate what is causing you

683
00:44:44.239 --> 00:44:48.000
not to make a decision, factor and lost revenue, efficiency ways,

684
00:44:48.079 --> 00:44:55.239
competitive disadvantage, and opportunity decay the minimum viable decision process.

685
00:44:55.719 --> 00:44:59.280
Instead of trying to make perfect decisions, make the smallest

686
00:44:59.320 --> 00:45:06.360
decision that will give you real market feedback and test. Third,

687
00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:10.440
we discussed how to overcome information overwhelmed by focusing on

688
00:45:10.639 --> 00:45:16.880
good enough plus speed rather than perfectionism plus analysis a paralysis.

689
00:45:16.920 --> 00:45:24.079
I'm sorry. Fourth, we shared five speed techniques predecision frameworks

690
00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:28.519
at bynes Reboard shortcuts. The ten ten ten rule reversibility

691
00:45:28.559 --> 00:45:31.079
tests and opportunity cost clocks.

692
00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:35.559
Michael, if a business owner listening could only implement one

693
00:45:35.639 --> 00:45:37.599
thing from today's show, what would you recommend.

694
00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:42.960
Well, I'd recommend starting with the seventy two hour rule two. Kip.

695
00:45:43.559 --> 00:45:45.719
You know, you pick one decision that you've been putting

696
00:45:45.719 --> 00:45:48.480
off and commit to making it within seventy two hours,

697
00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:52.960
not implementing it, just deciding. This single practice will begin

698
00:45:53.159 --> 00:45:57.920
rewiring your brain for confident decision making. But here's what

699
00:45:58.000 --> 00:46:01.280
I want everyone to understand. Confident isn't something you're born

700
00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:04.480
with or without. Business confidence is a skill that can

701
00:46:04.519 --> 00:46:07.960
be developed through practice. Every time you make a decision

702
00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:11.360
quickly and learn from the results, you're building that confidence muscle.

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The most successful business owners aren't those who never make mistakes.

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They are those who make decisions quickly, learn from the results,

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00:46:20.280 --> 00:46:24.599
and its course rapidly. They understand that in business, speed

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of implementation beats perfection of planning. And remember your competitors, well,

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00:46:32.079 --> 00:46:36.400
they're making Your competitors are making decisions while you're researching,

708
00:46:37.760 --> 00:46:41.760
so your customers defining solutions while you're analyzing, and your

709
00:46:41.760 --> 00:46:46.039
opportunities are disappearing while you're deliberating. The market rewards action,

710
00:46:46.199 --> 00:46:50.880
not analysis. It rewards speed, not perfection. It rewards those

711
00:46:50.920 --> 00:46:56.239
who are able to make decisions with complete information and

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00:46:56.360 --> 00:47:05.599
learn from real results. We've all been taught, oh sorry,

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00:47:06.159 --> 00:47:10.000
we've all been taught that good business people are careful,

714
00:47:11.079 --> 00:47:14.840
they're thorough and conservative. But the world has changed. What

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00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:18.280
worked in nineteen eighty five doesn't work in twenty twenty five.

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But here's my challenge to every listener for the next

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00:47:21.039 --> 00:47:25.719
thirty days, commit to making one business decision per week

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00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:30.280
using our framework. Start small. Maybe it's trying a new

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00:47:30.599 --> 00:47:35.280
marketing approach, or implementing a new process, or testing a

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00:47:35.440 --> 00:47:41.039
new service offering. Track your results. I guarantee you'll discover

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that making decisions quickly and adjusting based on results produces

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00:47:45.880 --> 00:47:51.840
much better outcomes than endless analysis and delayed implementation. And

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if you need any help in implementating these strategies, that's

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00:47:55.400 --> 00:47:57.639
exactly what we do it Next Step CFL we help

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00:47:57.679 --> 00:48:01.719
business owners build the systems and confidence they need to

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00:48:01.800 --> 00:48:07.920
make profitable business decisions quickly and consistently. So to get

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00:48:07.920 --> 00:48:10.559
a copy of our book, Powerful Business Strategies, simply go

728
00:48:10.639 --> 00:48:16.400
to our website www dot Next STEPCFO DOT. It's totally

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00:48:16.400 --> 00:48:19.960
complimentary and until next Monday at New Nissan Time for

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00:48:20.119 --> 00:48:23.079
Chukey Obio. My name is Michael bab Rita, and remember,

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00:48:23.760 --> 00:48:27.320
don't keep doing what your competition is doing.

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00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:32.519
You have been listening to powerful business strategies finding out

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00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:36.199
that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

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00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:39.679
Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern

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00:48:39.760 --> 00:48:43.199
time on W four CY Radio with your host Michael

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00:48:43.239 --> 00:48:47.880
Barbarita of Next Step CFO and moderator Chugy Obio