Article: One-Way vs. Two-Way Decisions
What Are One-Way and Two-Way Decisions?
One-Way Decisions: One-way decisions are the big, game-changing choices that are hard or impossible to undo. Think of these as the permanent marker moments in your business—once they’re made, they stick.
Two-Way Decisions: Two-way decisions, on the other hand, are reversible. They’re more like writing with a pencil—no big deal if you need to erase and start over. These decisions are flexible and can be adjusted without too much hassle.
Why Does It Matter?
Knowing the difference helps you allocate your time, energy, and focus. You don’t want to stress over a pencil mark like it’s a permanent marker, right?
Examples of Each Type
One-Way Decisions:
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- Shutting Down the Business: If you decide to close your agency, it's pretty final. Restarting would take monumental effort.
- Committing Fraud: Legal consequences make this irreversible. It’s a huge, life-altering decision.
- Deleting Your YouTube Channel: All your content, followers, and hard work? Gone forever.
Two-Way Decisions:
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- Changing Prices: If you realize you priced too high or too low, you can always adjust.
- Hiring a Freelancer for a Project: If it doesn’t work out, you can part ways and try a different freelancer.
- Launching a Trial Marketing Campaign: If it’s not effective, no worries—you can tweak or scrap it entirely.
Making the Best Decisions
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- Identify the Type:
- Ask yourself: Is this reversible? If so, it’s a two-way decision. If not, it’s one-way.
- Allocate Resources:
- Spend more time on one-way decisions since they’re harder to change.
- Make two-way decisions more quickly and don’t overthink them.
- Communicate Clearly:
- Let your team know which decisions are which. It helps everyone understand the stakes and move accordingly.
Quick Tips
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- Two-Way Decisions: Experiment more, be bold, and if you goof up, just tweak it!
- One-Way Decisions: Take your time, gather input, and make sure you’re confident before moving forward.
Summary
Remember the marker vs. pencil analogy to quickly gauge the impact of your decisions. Focusing your energy on what truly counts helps keep things running smoothly and avoids unnecessary stress.
