Best Places to Lead · Episode 44 · February 23, 2023
How do you make the right decisions as fast as possible? With Clint Rusch.
Most leaders treat every decision as if it deserves the same process. That is why they are slow. Clint Rusch, President of NorthPoint Logistics, came on the show with a six-question rubric that throws out the decisions which do not deserve your time, so the ones that do get all of it.
The decision rubric, in the order Clint runs it
The goal, in his words, is to steal time from inconsequential decisions and spend it on consequential ones. Six questions, asked in order. The moment one of them returns an answer, you decide and move.
- Is one option clearly better long term? Then take it and stop thinking. Betting on a long-term outcome not happening is a loser’s bet.
- Is one option clearly better short term? If the long-term picture is a wash, take the short-term win.
- Is the decision reversible? If it is a two-way door, pick one and start moving. Moving is how you get the information that shapes what you do next.
- Does it actually matter? Chicken sandwich or turkey sandwich. If nothing turns on it, choose and go.
- Would more time or information actually produce a better choice? Sometimes it will not, and no amount of analysis changes the odds.
- Is it worth creating that information? If ten hours of an analyst’s time buys a one percent better answer, skip it. If it moves the outcome materially, this is the decision you spend everything you just saved on.
Three things worth the click
22:34 · Hearing the clock. Clint borrows a line from Peyton Manning breaking down quarterback film: the good ones hear the clock in their head and know when to get rid of the ball. You cannot teach it. The person has to decide that time matters.
25:23 · The staggering waste. “The amount of time people spend on reversible decisions is really staggering.” If you can undo it, choosing slowly costs more than choosing wrong.
26:48 · The last question. Most frameworks stop at “gather more information.” Clint’s does not. He asks whether the information is worth creating at all, which is the question that actually protects your calendar.
What else we covered
- Why not deciding costs more than deciding imperfectly, because at least a decision gives you trajectory and velocity.
- Hiring lifelong learners for translatable skills rather than industry résumés.
- Cultivating accountability and ownership so the decisions do not all have to come back to you.
- The OODA loop, and what happens to a leader who cannot get through orient and decide fast enough.
About the guest
Clint Rusch is President of NorthPoint Logistics. He served in the U.S. military, and his path since has run through operations, finance, and consulting across aviation, healthcare, mining, hospitality, government, retail, technology, and utilities. He treats that range as the point rather than the problem: every day is a chance to learn something new. Find him on LinkedIn.
Listen to the full episode
The whole conversation runs on YouTube and at bestplacestolead.com. The decision rubric starts around the 23-minute mark.
Related
This episode sits in the decisions and execution theme. The framework I teach on the same question is Decision Delta, and the companion piece on which decisions deserve the analysis is the two-door decision test. Accountability and ownership, the third thread in this conversation, is the subject of the keynote Creating a Culture of Accountability.
Questions about this episode
Who is the guest on episode 44 of Best Places to Lead?
Clint Rusch, President of NorthPoint Logistics, a former U.S. military member with a background in operations, finance, and consulting across a wide range of industries.
What is the decision-making framework in this episode?
A six-question rubric asked in order: is one option clearly better long term, is one clearly better short term, is the decision reversible, does it actually matter, would more information produce a better choice, and is that information worth creating. You decide at the first question that answers itself, which leaves your time for the decisions that survive all six.
Where can I listen to this episode?
The full episode is on YouTube and at bestplacestolead.com.