Unmade decisions kill momentum faster than bad ones ever will.
I know because I used to collect them like trophies. Forty-three items on my “need to decide” list. Some had been there for eight months. EIGHT MONTHS.
Meanwhile, my competition wasn’t paralyzed. They were testing, learning, and eating my lunch.
Here’s the thing. You don’t need another decision-making model with boxes and arrows. You need a framework that forces action. One that acknowledges the real enemy isn’t making the wrong choice. It’s making no choice at all.
Why your current decision process is broken
Let me guess your current “framework for decision making”:
You notice something needs deciding. You think about it for a few days. Then you ask your team. Maybe poll some advisors. Create a spreadsheet. Research best practices. Ask your team again. Notice three months have passed. Feel overwhelmed. Table it for “next quarter.”
Sound familiar?
I’ve watched this pattern destroy momentum at hundreds of companies. Smart CEOs turned into professional overthinkers.
The problem isn’t intelligence. It’s fear dressed up as thoroughness.
You tell yourself you’re being careful. Strategic. Thoughtful. But you’re really just scared. Scared of picking wrong. Scared of wasting money. Scared of looking stupid.
BTW, I get it. I once spent six weeks deciding whether to switch email providers. Six weeks. For something that would take two hours to reverse if I hated it.
That’s when I realized most business decision making is broken at its core.
The psychology behind decision paralysis
There’s actual science here. It’s called the paradox of choice.
Give someone three options, they pick confidently. Give them thirty, they freeze. Their brain literally can’t process that many variables effectively.
In business, you’re not choosing between three or thirty options. You’re choosing from infinite possibilities. No wonder you’re frozen.
Every decision feels like it could be THE decision. The one that makes or breaks everything.
Except it’s not. And that delusion is costing you everything.
I’ve seen businesses lose their best employees because they couldn’t decide on promotions. Watched competitors steal entire markets while companies debated their positioning. Seen promising startups die because the founders couldn’t pick a target customer.
The cost of indecision compounds daily. While you’re analyzing, your competition is learning. While you’re debating, they’re iterating. While you’re planning the perfect move, they’re making twenty imperfect ones and finding what works.
Stop it.
The 10-10-10 framework that changed everything
After wasting years in analysis paralysis, I discovered something that actually works. I call it the 10-10-10 Rule.
For every decision, ask three questions:
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes? How will I feel about this in 10 months? How will I feel about this in 10 years?
That’s it. The entire framework for decision making.
If it won’t matter in 10 years, decide in 10 minutes. If it won’t matter in 10 months, decide in 10 hours. If it WILL matter in 10 years, take 10 days maximum.
No decision gets more than 10 days. Period.
How to actually implement this (not just admire it)
Knowing the framework and using it are different animals. Here’s exactly how to wire this into your business:
Step 1: The decision inventory
List every unmade decision currently haunting you. Everything from “should I fire that underperformer” to “which CRM should I buy.”
Don’t judge. Just list.
I bet you’ll find 20-50 items. Most executives do. Each one draining mental energy every single day.
Step 2: The 10-10-10 sort
Go through your list. Next to each decision, write:
- 10m (won’t matter in 10 years OR 10 months)
- 10h (might matter in 10 months, not 10 years)
- 10d (could matter in 10 years)
Be honest. That logo redesign? 10m. The new hire for a key position? 10d. The email software? 10m.
Most decisions are 10m. You just treat them like 10d.
Step 3: The decision sprint
Block your calendar. You’re about to clear massive mental debt.
Start with the 10m decisions. Set a timer for 10 minutes each. When it rings, decide. No extensions. No exceptions.
“But what if I pick wrong?”
Then you’ll fix it. Most 10-minute decisions are completely reversible. The few that aren’t still won’t matter in 10 years.
I cleared seventeen decisions in three hours using this method. SEVENTEEN. Some had been haunting me for months.
Step 4: The accountability system
This is where most frameworks fail. You need enforcement.
Tell someone your decision deadline. Not “I’m thinking about it.” Give them the exact date and time you’ll decide.
“I’m deciding on our new pricing model by 3pm Thursday.”
Then schedule a meeting with them at 3:15 to announce your decision. No wiggle room.
Why this framework works when others fail
Traditional decision-making frameworks assume perfect information. They pretend you can analyze your way to certainty.
You can’t.
The 10-10-10 framework accepts uncertainty as a given. It focuses on what actually matters: the time value of decisions.
Every day you don’t decide is a day you can’t learn from that decision. A day you can’t iterate. A day your competition gets ahead.
This framework forces you to price that cost correctly.
It also aligns with how our brains actually work. We’re terrible at absolute judgments but excellent at relative ones. “Will this matter in 10 years?” is a question your gut can actually answer.
Most importantly, it creates momentum. Each decision you make builds confidence for the next one. You start to realize most “catastrophic” choices aren’t. You were just catastrophizing.
Common objections (and why they’re BS)
“But my decisions are too complex for this.”
No, they’re not. You’re making them complex to avoid deciding.
I’ve used this for million-dollar acquisitions and lunch orders. It scales. The timeline might change slightly, but the principle holds.
“What if I need more information?”
You always need more information. Perfect information doesn’t exist. At some point, you’re not gathering data. You’re hiding behind it.
“My board/team/spouse expects thorough analysis.”
Show them the cost of delay. Calculate how much revenue you’re losing while “being thorough.” Calculate the opportunities missed. Make indecision visible.
“Some decisions really are irreversible.”
Fewer than you think. But yes, some are. That’s what the 10-day category is for. Notice I said 10 days, not 10 months. Even irreversible decisions don’t need endless analysis.
The nuanced reality of implementation
Real businesses are messy. Here’s how to handle the edge cases:
When stakeholders won’t align
You’ve decided, but your business partner hasn’t. They want “more time to think.”
Set the meeting anyway. Announce YOUR decision and your implementation date. “I’ve decided I’m moving forward with X on Monday. I’d love your input before then, but the decision is made.”
Watch how quickly they form opinions when there’s a deadline.
When the decision genuinely needs expertise
Sometimes you legitimately lack the knowledge to decide. Fine. But set a deadline for getting that knowledge.
“I’m deciding on our SEO strategy by Friday. I’m talking to three experts by Wednesday.”
The framework still applies. You’re just adding an information-gathering step with its own deadline.
When decisions interconnect
Big decisions often trigger cascading smaller ones. Use the framework for each level.
Deciding to expand to Europe? That’s 10d. Which country first? Probably 10h. Which city? 10m.
Don’t let complexity become an excuse for paralysis.
When you decide wrong
You will. I do regularly. Last month I picked the wrong contractor for a website redesign. Realized it in week two.
Know what I did? Made another decision. Fired them. Found someone better. Moved on.
The total cost of that “bad” decision? About $3,000 and two weeks. The cost of agonizing over the choice for two more months? Probably $20,000 in lost opportunities.
Made the wrong decision? Great. Now you know.
Bad decisions teach. Unmade decisions don’t.
Building a decision-making culture
If you lead a team, individual decisiveness isn’t enough. You need a culture that moves.
Make decision deadlines visible
I started a shared spreadsheet: Decision, Owner, Deadline. Updated weekly in our team meeting. Public accountability changes behavior fast.
Celebrate fast decisions (even wrong ones)
Someone decided quickly and it didn’t work? Celebrate the speed, discuss the learning. Make it safe to move fast.
“Sarah decided on our event venue in 30 minutes. Turned out the AC was broken. She found a better venue the next day. That’s how we move.”
Push decisions down
Most leaders hoard decisions because it feels like control. It’s not. It’s a bottleneck.
For each decision, ask: Who’s closest to the information? Who has to live with the consequences? That person should decide.
Set spending limits. Set quality standards. Then let people decide within those bounds.
Create decision templates
For recurring decisions, create simple templates:
- Hiring: Phone screen → Culture fit → Skills test → Decide in 48 hours
- Vendor selection: Three quotes → Reference check → Decide in one week
- Marketing tests: Budget under $5K → Clear success metric → Decide in 10 minutes
Templates remove the meta-decision of HOW to decide.
Measuring your decision velocity
What gets measured gets improved. Track these:
Decision backlog: How many unmade decisions are you carrying? Should shrink weekly.
Decision time: Average time from “this needs deciding” to “decision made.” Should be days, not months.
Reversal rate: What percentage of decisions do you change? Lower isn’t better. 10-20% means you’re moving fast enough. If you’re reversing 40%+ of decisions, slow down. You’re moving without any filters. But if it’s 0%, you’re probably not taking enough risks.
Implementation rate: What percentage of decisions actually get implemented? Below 80% means you’re deciding but not committing.
I track these monthly. When decision time creeps up, I know fear is creeping in.
The compound effect of decisive leadership
Here’s what happens when you commit to this framework:
Month 1: You clear the backlog. Feel lighter. Team notices.
Month 3: Decisions become routine. Team starts moving faster too.
Month 6: Competitors wonder how you move so fast.
Month 12: You’re playing a different game entirely.
I’ve watched companies transform just by deciding faster. No new strategy. No new people. Just velocity.
Speed compounds. While others debate, you’re already three iterations deep. You know what actually works because you tested it. They’re still in the conference room.
Your homework (do this today, not tomorrow)
Pull out your phone. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
Write down every unmade decision in your business. Every. Single. One.
Pick the three oldest. Apply 10-10-10. Decide on at least one before the timer rings.
Feel that? That’s momentum.
Tomorrow, do three more. By Friday, your backlog should be half gone.
But here’s the real test. Next time a new decision comes up, don’t add it to a list. Don’t “think about it.” Ask the 10-10-10 questions and decide on the spot.
The fear is lying to you
I know what you’re thinking. “But Rodney, my business is different. My decisions are too important to rush.”
That’s fear talking. And fear is a liar.
Your unmade decisions aren’t protecting you from failure. They’re guaranteeing mediocrity. Every day you don’t decide is a day you can’t win.
The framework for decision making isn’t about being reckless. It’s about being realistic. Most decisions don’t deserve weeks of your life. The few that do still don’t deserve months.
You already know what to do. You’re just scared to do it.
Stop researching. Stop polling. Stop hiding.
Decide.
Your future self will thank you. Your team will thank you. Your business will thank you.
And if you decide wrong? You’ll fix it.
That’s what leaders do. They decide, they learn, they adjust. They don’t sit in conference rooms pretending uncertainty can be analyzed away.
The only framework for decision making you need is the one that makes you actually decide.
Now stop reading and go clear that backlog.
Clock’s ticking.
