Decide

How to make better decisions and achieve your goals

What shapes a person's career and life, and defines them as a leader? Their decisions. We all want to be more productive and deliver our best results. But doing this effectively—and consistently over time—is a significant challenge. Managing it all is hard, and leading in today's hyper-paced world is even harder.

The good news is that leadership expert Steve McClatchy makes it easier. In Decide, McClatchy—who works with Fortune 1000 people every day to help them achieve outstanding levels of performance—shows you how to cut through the complexities and excuses to start realizing real gains simply by changing one thing: the way you make decisions. With McClatchy's help, you can quickly begin to:

• Use the time you have each day to move your business and your life forward
• Make decisions that yield better results
• Waste less time, reduce stress and regain balance

Again and again, McClatchy has helped people learn for themselves how great decision-making habits yield a lifetime of accomplishments. Follow McClatchy's no-nonsense and practical approach, and you'll soon manage—and even lead—at your highest level of personal performance.

Preface xv

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Two Forms of Human Motivation: Gain and Prevent Pain 5

Prevent Pain: I Have to Do It! 9

Do I Really Have To? 11

Attributes of a Gain Task 13

Management versus Leadership 18

The One and Only Exercise I Will Ask You to Do in This Book . . . Brainstorm! 20

Chapter 2 It’s All up to You: Avoid Burnout and Create Balance 23

So Why Take on Gain? 25

The Paradox of Balance 26

Gain Is the Answer to the Balance Crisis 29

Gain and Prevent Pain Must Work Together 33

Chapter 3 Prioritizing Tasks in Relation to Results 35

A New Way to Prioritize 39

Why Is Prioritizing Important? 42

Focus on Results 44

Survival Instincts 49

Breaking Down Gain: Creation versus Consumption 51

Chapter 4 Energy and Motivation: Decide How You Will Get Yours 55

What Can Your Brain Do for You? 58

Energy from Desire: Creation and Consumption 62

Energy from Fear: Procrastination 66

The Final Judgment on Procrastination 72

Chapter 5 What Understanding the Value of Time Can Do for Your Life 75

The Value of a Minute 79

Understanding Where Our Time Goes 81

Make Better Decisions about Your Time 83

You Accomplish Gain by Getting Your Goals on Your Calendar 84

Why Does This Work? 86

Getting Your Goals on Your Calendar: The First Steps 88

Need Some Examples? 90

Leap of Faith 93

Don’t Squeeze It In 95

Chapter 6 Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Planning 97

No Time to Plan? 101

Benefits of a 5-Minute Plan 102

Make It a Habit 108

Chapter 7 Managing Interruptions 109

Stick to the Work Involved 113

Steer It Back by Interrupting Yourself 115

Set Expectations 115

Recover and Get Back to Work! 116

Work Interruptions into and out of Your Schedule 118

Return the Favor 118

Chapter 8 How to Manage It All: Time Management Implementation 121

Organizing Your Information Resources 123

Why Get Organized? 125

Decide and Commit 127

The Keys to Using a Time Management System Effectively 129

What Your System Needs to Do 130

Task Management System: To-Do Lists 131

Calendar 138

They Work Together 139

Being on Time versus Being Late 140

Information Management: Contacts and Notes 143

Touch It Once 145

Chapter 9 Take Action 147

The Power of Your Decisions 149

Decisions Are Like Rules 150

Your Decisions Determine Who You Are 150

Do You Make Leadership Decisions? 152

It’s Not a Competition 153

Building Your Identity as a Leader 156

Don’t Just Think about It. Do It! 157

You Work Too Hard Not to Get the Great Results You Deserve 158

Notes 161

Acknowledgments 163

About Alleer Training and Consulting’s Work with Clients 167

About the Author 169

Index 171

STEVE McCLATCHY is an international speaker, trainer, consultant, writer, and entrepreneur who has spoken before thousands of audiences who have been delighted with his entertaining style and powerful stories. He leaves each and every participant with a wealth of knowledge delivered in a fun and interactive fashion. Steve founded Alleer Training and Consulting out of his passion for adult learning and for the field of training and development. He has worked in sales, sales management, training, and consulting for such organizations as The Pillsbury Company, Broderbund Software, and Forte Systems. To learn more, visit www.SteveMcClatchy.com

What shapes a person's career and life, and defines them as a leader? Their decisions. We all want to be more productive and deliver our best results. But doing this effectively—and consistently over time—is a significant challenge.

In Decide, author Steve McClatchy—who works with Fortune 1000 people every day to help them achieve outstanding levels of performance—shows you how to cut through the complexities and excuses to start realizing real gains simply by changing one thing: the way you make decisions. Decide takes you on a journey that will ultimately lead you to changing three simple things: the way you prioritize, the way you plan, and the way you execute the plan. You will better understand how your current reality and quality of life is a direct result of the way you do these three simple things. You'll also learn how to:

• Make better decisions to get better results
• Get more done in less time
• End e-mail addiction and stay focused
• Keep a two-minute interruption to two minutes
• Use procrastination to your advantage
• Get organized so you spend less time looking for what you need
• Plan in order to save time and reduce stress

Decide cuts through all the excuses, justifications, and rationalizations for failing to achieve your goals. It offers a no-nonsense, practical, and enduring roadmap to manage decisions in a way that allows enough time for goals to be achieved. It also provides the skills, ideas, and strategies necessary to overcome the challenges and complexities involved with achieving goals. Discover how great decision-making habits can yield a lifetime of accomplishments.

Praise for Decide

"Steve's approach is not only hugely engaging but its impact on motivation and productivity is immediate. His book is the next best thing to having Steve in the room. I highly recommend it!"
—Christina Harper Elgarresta, Managing Director, Accenture

"Decide delivers: If you're struggling to lead, not just manage, if you're frustrated that your very best results are just beyond reach, or if you're simply at war with your calendar, Steve McClatchy's new book is for you. Decide is a rare fresh take at some of the thorny problems that block our best work. But don't just take my word for it. Get your own copy, and you'll soon be ordering copies for your team as well."
—Marshall Goldsmith, America's preeminent executive coach (Fast Company magazine)

"Decide puts personal power squarely where it belongs: in your hands. Follow Steve's advice, and you'll immediately see benefits that will change the way you plan, spend your time, and engage with others. To change your trajectory and start leading in all aspects of your life, all you have to do is DECIDE."
—Mary Davis Holt, Leadership coach, speaker, and best-selling coauthor of Break Your Own Rules

"I have worked with Steve and I can say firsthand, his approach has had a profound impact on every level of our organization. His approach is deeply insightful and tremendously impactful. I highly recommend Steve, his approach, and this book!"
—Luc Robitaille, President of Business Operations, Los Angeles Kings Hockey Club

"In Decide, Steve McClatchy shows us that we can accomplish amazing things by aligning what we want to achieve with how we spend our time. Regardless of the industry or level of the reader, real benefits will be accomplished from Steve's advice—an immensely practical guide!"
—Valerie Sutton, Director of Career Services, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"World-class leadership is about making inspired and enlightened choices. With fresh stories and advice, McClatchy drills down to this idea by recommending daily habits that leaders at every level can use to their immediate benefit. Decide is a very worthy read on a critical subject."
—Douglas R. Conant, Chairman of Avon Products, Founder of Conant Leadership, and New York Times best-selling leadership author, TouchPoints

"Your success as a leader is as good as your decisions. McClatchy shows you how to make the decisions everyday that will keep your business and you moving forward."
—Elizabeth Walker, Vice President, Global Talent Management, Campbell's Soup Company

"If your intention is to gain from your life, and not just prevent the pain that often comes with it, then Decide is the book for you. Steve McClatchy reminds us that in order to achieve something of significance we have to focus on things that matter. His new book is full of the practical wisdom that will enable you to end burnout and bring balance to your life—and to find a path worthy of being followed. I absolutely recommend this book."
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University

Praise for Decide

“Steve's approach is not only hugely engaging but its impact on motivation and productivity areis? immediate. His book is the next best thing to having Steve in the room. I highly recommend it!”
—Christina Harper Elgarresta, Managing Director, Accenture

“Decide delivers: If you’re struggling to lead not just manage, if you’re frustrated that your? very best results are just beyond reach, or if you’re simply at war with your calendar, Steve McClatchy’s new book is for you. Decide is a rare fresh take at some of the thorny problems that block our best work. But don’t just take my word for it. Get your own copy, and you’ll soon be ordering copies for your team as well.”
—Marshall Goldsmith - America's preeminent executive coach (Fast Company magazine)

“Decide puts personal power squarely where it belongs--in your hands. Follow Steve’s advice, and you’ll immediately see benefits that will change the way you plan, spend your time, and engage with others. To change your trajectory and start leading in all aspects of your life, all you have to do is DECIDE.”
—Mary Davis Holt Leadership coach, speaker and bestselling co-author of Break Your Own Rules

“I have worked with Steve and I can say firsthand, his approach has had a profound impact on every level of our organization. His approach is deeply insightful and tremendously impactful. I highly recommend Steve, his approach and this book!”
—Luc Robataille, President of Business Operations, Los Angeles Kings Hockey Club

"In Decide, Steve McClatchy shows us that we can accomplish amazing things by aligning what we want to achieve with how we spend our time. Regardless of the industry or level of the reader, real benefits will be accomplished from Steve’s advice – an immensely practical guide!
—Valerie Sutton, Director of Career Services, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“As the late Professor Randy Pausch said, ‘It's not how long you live, rather how well you live’ Decide shows how we can all live more meaningful, productive lives simply by practicing better decision-making. I invite you--and your team--to start regaining control over your time and efforts by reading this important book.”
—Navi Radjou Speaker, Advisor and Bestselling Author including Jugaad Innovation and From Smart To Wise

"World-class leadership is about making inspired and enlightened choices. With fresh stories and advice, McClatchy drills down to this idea by recommending daily habits that leaders at every level can use to their immediate benefit. DECIDE is a very worthy read on a critical subject."
—Douglas R. Conant, Chairman of Avon Products, Founder of Conant Leadership, and New York Times Bestselling Leadership Author, TouchPoints

"Your success as a leader is as good as your decisions. McClatchy shows you how to make the decisions everyday that will keep your business and you moving forward."
—Elizabeth Walker, Vice President, Global Talent Management, Campbell’s Soup Company

“If your intention is to gain from your life, and not just prevent the pain that often comes with it, then Decide is the book for you. Steve McClatchy reminds us that in order to achieve something of significance we have to focus on things that matter. His new book is full of the practical wisdom that will enable you to end burnout and bring balance to your life—and to find a path worthy of being followed. I absolutely recommend this book.”
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University