One of the biggest frustrations in business is waiting for a decision to get made.
As Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part…”
When you have an idea that you’re excited about or at least interested in testing you want to be able to take action. Or you want to know if you’re not allowed to move forward. Either way, you have your decision.
When one person is in charge you’re much more likely to get your decision than if you have to wait on a committee.
I think both can work, but from my experience and from gleaning insight into other businesses it’s much better to have dictators in charge.
Time
The first advantage to a dictator is that time is often cut in the decision making process. Some dictators may take time to make a decision, but in general there is only one person that has to make the decision versus a committee of people.
It’s not that decisions always need to be made quickly, but in many instances it’s better to make a decision and put it to action and adjust from there.
When I was growing up and getting into a adulthood one of the biggest regrets I would hear entrepreneurs say about themselves is that they wish they had decided to go into business sooner. Or that they would have made a decision sooner.
Why?
There is only a limited amount of time in a life. Why waste it on consideration when you could be spending it on action…
Ownership
When there is a committee in charge the credit and blame can be spread around. Nobody feels like they’re entirely the owner of any decision.
When there is no ownership there is no responsibility. It can also lead to each person on the committee thinking that another person is responsible for getting something done.
Say what you want about dictators, but they own their decisions. They know that any blame relating to a decision comes back to them.
And all the best businesspeople I’ve watched over the years take the blame. They look for their role in any situation.
Even if an employee screws up the leader is wondering what they did. Did they not provide proper training? Did they hire the wrong people?
Consultants
Even though it’s good to have a dictator in charge it’s usually important that the person in charge has at least once person to consult with on important decisions.
However, it’s not that this consultant will make the decisions. They are there to provide input for the dictator. The dictator can do what they want, but a good consultant will provide insight and usually opposition to decisions. But at least when they do the dictator has all the angles of their decision.
You’ve probably heard that when some people get successful that they put “Yes Men” around themselves. This feels good, but it usually leads to a loss of success. Most of us need someone, at least one person, to give us insight into alternative realities. We need people to challenge us.
Even successful duos often find that they needed each other. They needed each other to challenge themselves and when they’re on their own they make lesser decisions.
Final Thoughts
There’s a funny saying in politics that the best form of government is a dictatorship…as long as it’s the right dictator.
There is probably some truth to it. But obviously the rub is that it’s not easy to find the right dictator. And not many people like being told how to live their lives.
But when it comes to business it’s good to have a dictator at the top. And it’s good to have other dictators in the business. People in charge and in ownership of certain areas of the company.
The trick is making sure the right dictators are in place. People that know the values of the company and use those values to make decisions. People that put the company first. People that work for their employees and want their employees to succeed.
But still someone that will make decisions.
If you’re in a leadership role you might be the dictator. In that case, look at your situation to see who your trusted voice is. Who your consultant is.
Also look to make sure that the final decisions are yours and that lesser decisions belong to other dictators. Committees will lead to issues.
And if you’re working for a company that has a dictator know that it’s probably the best situation. They may not always make the decisions you suggest, but they are making decisions. They’re learning from them, right or wrong, and the company is making progress.
