10 Habits for Making Wicked Hard Decisions
How to make tough decisions about products, people, and business.
Three years ago, I gave my first talk at a Greylock Partners event. When I asked the product leaders what they wanted to talk about, one answered, “I just want to know how Netflix made the wicked hard decisions.”
Figuring out how to make tough decisions is a topic that’s always worth revisiting as you develop as a leader. To help you make these decisions more quickly and confidently, I’ve compiled ten decision-making habits I’ve learned over the years about people, products, and business.
1. Ask questions, form an opinion, and engage in debate
Early in my career, the head of product at Electronic Arts asked me, “What would you do?” as he contemplated a tough decision. In response, I blubbered incoherently. Later, a friend at work coached me: “Relax — he wants to know what you think. If you don’t know the answer, ask questions until you can form an opinion, then engage in debate.”
At Netflix, I frequently saw this behavior modeled by the executive team. Netflix’s CEO would ask the heads of marketing and finance to debate the merit of a price decrease. Halfway through the argument, he’d stop them and ask them to flip positions…
