Colin Powell's 40-70 Rule
“What’s called a difficult decision is a difficult decision because either way you go there are penalties.”
Colin Powell served in the US Army for 35 years.
He had a distinguished career and eventually rose to the rank of 4-star general.
From 2001 to 2005, he served as the 65th United States Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.
Throughout his time as a leader, he faced countless tough decisions. Unfortunately, many had grave consequences for the lives of those serving under him.
To help himself, Powell developed his own rule of thumb, which he called his 40-70 rule.
The rule states that you need between 40 and 70 per cent of the total information to make a decision.
With less than 40 per cent, you will likely make a poor choice, and with more than 70 per cent, you will end up taking too long, and the decision will be made for you!
The point is that all leaders should aspire to make more correct decisions than incorrect ones. But they cannot be so fearful of making mistakes that they make no decisions at all.
There has to be a balance between perfection and speed.
The truth is that you will never have all the information you need to make a perfect decision.
Therefore, to be an effective decision-maker, you need to get comfortable with making a call without all the data you think you require.
For the rest, you have to trust your intuition and experience.
