Out of the blue, I received a call from someone in the financial services industry that I had that referred clients over the years. Her business expertise was in an area beyond the scope of work I did with my clients. And while we had collaborated on clients, we had never talked about her business beyond the services she provided to business owners.

The voicemail indicated she wanted to run something by me. But when we spoke, I quickly realized she was at the crossroads with a business decision and she didn’t know what to do.

Many times the coaching conversations I have with business owners concern decisions they had made at a point in their life when they didn’t know what to do.

Seeking advice or counsel is the wise thing to do

But either by design or default or because of ego or pride, entrepreneurs and business owners tend to go it alone. Sometimes the results are good and often not as good as they had sought objective feedback or utilized someone as a sounding board.

And while I won’t go into the details of the call, here is a decision-making model I used to help her get a better idea of what to do when she truly didn’t know what to do.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. – Charles Swindoll

Be Inquisitive – research potential solutions

• Search the internet – articles, books, blogs, podcasts, videos

• Ask friends, family, neighbors, or business associates if they know someone you should talk to who is familiar with the decision you are contemplating

Be Open – seek counsel

• Being inquisitive is getting ideas about potential solutions.

• Getting counsel is tapping into the wisdom of someone who has perspective about the decision you have to make.

• And if you can’t find someone with first-hand knowledge of the situation, review your notes from all the conversations you had with people you trust (mentors, advisors, friends, spouse) to see where there is a consensus. And when there is, move on to the next step. Just make sure the people you’re talking to will not only tell you what they think but also what you need to hear.

Be Still – ponder, meditate, or pray

• Evaluate everything you learned from being inquisitive and review the advice shared by counsel.

• Compare the advice shared by counsel.

• Stay still until you know what to do. Remember, no one knows for you…only you know for you!

A few final thoughts about moving forward after you make a decision about what to do:

KNOW THIS

Waiting to make a perfect decision means you’ll never make any decision! – Tom Martin

DO THIS

Forget about the ultimate outcome. Just focus on taking one step in the direction of the thing you decided to do.  – Tom Martin

REMEMBER THIS

Clarity comes when you move toward your destination and correct along the way.  – Michael Hyatt