Decision Making During COVID-19

This is a wild, strange, and uncertain time for most of us. 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 is creating a unique situation, forcing everyone into new routines and different lifestyles. My hope is that you're staying healthy, both physically and emotionally. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 -- with much change and uncertainty many of us are feeling anxious and stressed. So, in the midst of all that's going on, remember to take extra-good care of 𝐲𝐨𝐮, be gentle and patient with yourself, and focus on what you can control.

For many small business owners, we have been challenged daily to make multiple decisions, with limited or conflicting data. It can be fatiguing and challenging. It is important to take a pause from decision making and allow your brain to rest. The ability to make good decisions is built on past experiences, research and data. As business owners, we operate from a risk mindset. This is an approach to the world that asks: “𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒?”

This tool has proven useful in the past; should we have an earthquake, we will operate business from a different location, a fire, we will operate from a different location. We have data and experience with these. So, using our past decision-mindset to see and interpret the world is both needed and appropriate when you have adequate information about your actions and the outcomes those actions result in. For this decision mindset to produce clear and correct decisions about how to act requires accurate information about the situation. Our former decision mindset is only appropriate when we know all the possible outcomes, we know what actions we can take, and we know exactly how our actions affect our outcomes.

Without knowing all these things, making decisions based on our past mindset leads us to make the wrong decisions. We don’t know these things in relation to the 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬 outbreak. We do not know the long term impacts of health, safety and well-being of our communities, nor do we know the short and long term impact of our supply chains. We cannot know, as this is a new experience for us.

So in the midst of decision making 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 – remind yourself and those around you that we are truly in uncharted waters, and that decisions are best made for the small moments – day to day. And, that they will change as more data is taken in.

- Dr. Jill Jay