In his book Win The Crowd, Steven Cohen talks about decisiveness and moving with a definitive purpose. He asks the reader to do this experiment: With your right hand pick up a pencil on the right side of your desk. Now reach across your body to your left side and place the pen down on your desk somewhere off to the left. It doesn't matter where. Just place it somewhere on the left side of the desk and leave it there. In trial 2, repeat the action as in trial 1, but this time, decide exactly where you will place the pen on the left side of your desk before you begin. Remember: don't make a move until you've already decided where the final destination will be. Put the pen down directly in that spot. Did you feel a difference? In trial 1 you had to make a decision as your hand was in transit. “Where should I put the pen down? Over here? or perhaps over there? Sure, it is a quick decision but it required thought nonetheless. Trial 2, you knew exactly where the start and finish points were and you moved more efficiently. Strive to make all of your actions decisive. Think before you move. Whether you're handing a pen to a colleague for their signature or flipping pages in a sales brochure for a client, make your actions precise. Visualize the action and then carry it out. Lack of precision invites doubt to one’s abilities. Win The Crowd, page 29 To be this precise requires planning and thoughtfulness. Planning and thoughtfulness take time. We have a definitive amount of time in a day, so I would make the argument that the preparation you do, ultimately saves you time, and buys you more of it. Prepare ahead of time the questions you ask your team during practice. That way you can ask them definitively. Prepare your team for an upcoming opponent by scaring them, and telling your team precisely how you can execute against them. The preparation takes some time, and it’s time well spent if it translates to acting definitively.
