• About
  • Article PDF
  • White Papers
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Advertising & Sponsorships
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Times Of Entrepreneurship
Growth and Equity for a Changing World
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

Decision Making In Uncertain Times

Tips on Decision-Making Amid The Pandemic

by Seth Levine
June 23, 2020
in Mentorship, New Builders
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Making decisions for your business can be hard even in normal circumstances. Right now, in this time of great uncertainty and high emotional stress it’s even harder. I’m on countless calls a day now where I’m trying to talk through with people in our universe (CEOs, GPs of other funds, fellow board members, etc.) critical decisions that in many cases will define the future for the businesses involved. How to react in a time like this is complicated and in most cases is not obvious. Just how bad things may get is unknown, as is how long this will last and what effect that will have on various business sectors and on specifics businesses is unclear. Below are a few thoughts that I’m using to guide my own decision making in this time of crisis.

  • Don’t Panic. I say this all the time. 1) Don’t Panic; 2) Gather data; 3) Make informed decisions. The order here is important. This is especially true when times are crazy and there’s even more pressure to make rapid decisions. Take a minute to breath and calm yourself. Think about what data you can gather that will help inform your decision making and what time frame is reasonable to allow yourself to make that decision. Give yourself a little space to collect the information you need to make as informed a decision as you can given the unknowns that will inevitably exist as well as the time frame that’s reasonable for the decision at hand.
  • Move quickly but don’t rush. Related and not in opposition to #1, you can still make decisions quickly and decisively, but do so without rushing. When you’re stressed it’s easy to interpret that stress as a need to just get things done. Don’t fall into that trap. You can still move rapidly without rushing.
  • Prioritize. When you’re making quick decisions and have a lot of information hitting you at once, it’s tempting to try to just get things off your plate. But that’s a bad way to organize your work even in the best of times. I’m a consistent user of Asana (but you could use Trello, Todoist, Wunderlist, etc) to prioritize my days. It’s especially helpful when things feel out of control to have the framework that a well though through task list provides. Use it to help you prioritize the decisions you need to make that are urgent and to keep track of what’s left to do.
  • Be comfortable with ambiguity. One of the most challenging things about making decisions for your business right now is how much we don’t know. That’s disconcerting but you’re just going to have to deal with it. Hopefully your business is well instrumented so at least you’re getting some data in. Take in what you can, recognize that you won’t have perfect information and make the best decisions you can at the time, recognizing that some decisions will need to be revisited when you have more information.
  • You can’t control what you can’t control. There’s no sense in focusing on things that are out of your control. So focus in on the things that are within your control.
  • Make contingency plans. One of the things that I’m encouraging companies that I work with to do is to engage in some scenario planning. I’ll have a longer post up tomorrow about this but the general idea is to free yourself from pressure in the moment by coming up with multiple plans of action. If we see X we’ll do Y (times a bunch of different scenarios). Your thinking ahead of time will more likely be clearer than in the moment. And you can revisit your thinking over time (before you’ve actually had to implement what you’re working through) and have the benefit of multiple looks at the same set of problems.

Overall I’m seeing high degrees of anxiety and concern about making the “right” decision. That’s understandable given the circumstances. Recognize that no one really knows what’s going to happen here and that your job is to make the best decisions you can. “Right” doesn’t exist in times like these.



This story and others on Times of E are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.

Seth Levine

Seth Levine

Hi, I'm Seth Levine, a Boulder, CO based technology investor and managing director at Foundry Group. While I love technology I’m also a husband, father, avid cyclist, snowboarder and outdoors guy.

Related Posts

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

by Nina Roberts
January 25, 2023
0

Regina Trillo is the founder of Nemi Cactus Sticks, made with Mexican nopal. Photos: Nelipot Project, collage: Nina Roberts. Authentic...

TK

With A New Way to Make Furniture, Locally, Baru Has Nearly $1M In Revenue After Two Years

by Nina Roberts
December 23, 2022
0

Tino Go is the founder of Baru. Could “decentralized manufacturing” be the next industrial revolution? Tino Go, the founder of...

Vermont Farmer Creates A New Drink Category With Roots In The Past

Vermont Farmer Creates A New Drink Category With Roots In The Past

by Nina Roberts
November 23, 2022
0

Matt Sayre is the founder of Shrubbly, a sparkling shrub drink made with aronia berries. Photo collage: Nina Roberts The...

The Passion of The Christian Hip Hop Entrepreneur James Rosseau

The Passion of The Christian Hip Hop Entrepreneur: James Rosseau

by Lori Ioannou
November 10, 2022
0

James Rosseau of Holy Culture Radio, bringing Christian hop hop to the forefront. Since its beginnings in the 1980s, Christian...

a red triangle with the words System Hacked on it

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses

by Elizabeth Macbride
October 20, 2022
0

There's a new and booming market for cyber protection and cyber insurance services for small businesses.  The market started to...

More Americans Are Embracing Entrepreneurship

More Americans Are Embracing Entrepreneurship

by Elizabeth Macbride
October 6, 2022
0

Evidence continues to build that Americans are re-embracing the idea of entrepreneurship as a career, path to wealth and a...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Learn about the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders

Popular

  • Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 20 U.S. University Entrepreneurship Competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trailblazer: An Audacious Denver Entrepreneur Recruited An Xbox Creator To Develop Her Gaming Vision

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

Homepage Header

Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Leaders: Miami, Pittsburgh, Virtual

January 27, 2023
Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

January 26, 2023
Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

January 25, 2023

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
How A Billionaire Couple Who Love Science Changed The Gun Debate

How A Billionaire Couple Who Love Science Changed The Gun Debate

2 years ago
In December, All The Jobs Lost Were Lost By Women. One Shocking Stat Tells Us What We Need To Know.

Op-Ed: Good Jobs For Women Are In Reach Through Social Enterprises

2 years ago
  • About
  • Partner
  • Bespoke Research
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

(703-966-7357)

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • New Builders
  • Ecosystem
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Editor’s Note

© 2022 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Support Times of E

Times of E covers the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders.

With your support of our journalism, you will receive our weekly newsletter and one of these resources for free: 

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?