thing and that’ s something that I’ ve taken to heart in my management style,” she says.
Cooper Fitness Center & Spa trains staff to make the best possible decisions in serving guests.
Learning the Skill According to Dr. Diane Wong, owner and medical director at Glow Medi Spa located in Ontario, Canada, decisionmaking is a vital skill set because, in the long run, the ability to solve problems and make decisions can save any business time, energy and money.“ Unfortunately, you sometimes learn problem-solving by trial and error, and you have to use your past experiences to guide you in the future.”
Dr. Wong adds that decision-making is a learned skill set, but is often difficult to teach because each business and its components are different.“ Making the wrong decision can be very costly. You must constantly have a finger on the pulse and be able to read your own business to know when something works or doesn’ t— and adapt or change as needed.”
Like Dr. Wong, Cooper Fitness Center & Spa Assistant General Manager Sarah Carroll thinks decision-making is a skill set learned through observation and practice.“ Ingrained in every leader should be the desire to do the right
Habits to Develop Leaders who excel in decision-making develop habits that help strengthen their ability to find solutions when faced with difficult problems.“ An effective manager must be able to prioritize and avoid procrastination, be decisive with a willingness to accept the possible consequences, and react quickly by changing course if certain decisions produce less than ideal results,” says James.
When it comes to making tough calls, James draws wisdom from business magnate and philanthropist Warren Buffet, who once said:“ It’ s better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.”
Dr. Wong agrees, stating that much of decision-making comes down to priorities.“ You don’ t always want to be‘ putting out fires’— so never pause and always plan ahead,” she says, quickly adding that having a list of priorities also ensures that you stay on track when faced with multiple issues at once.
It is equally important to form a strong foundation.“ To do this, you must first realize what forms your foundation. Is it your people, your products, or your physical space? Recognize and nurture it,” she says.
Harmsworth, on her part, thinks developing strong decision-making skills means learning to do what’ s important, not what’ s urgent.“ Learn who to delegate what tasks to and do the
“ Learn who to delegate what tasks to and do the hardest things first so you ' ll have a clear mind.”
— Susan Harmsworth, Chairman and Founder, ESPA International
48 PULSE ■ June 2016