Are Your Numbers Helping You Make Good Decisions?
When we come from a space of personal responsibility, we understand that sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t. We understand that there is always a number of moving parts to anything in life, and some we have control over and some we don’t.
So what do we do when things don’t work?
I recently read a great article that explained decision making this way: Decision quality is not the same as decision outcome. The author (Ken Evers-Hood) poses the question “How do we distinguish between good decisions that happen to result in failure and bad decisions that lead to failure?”
It’s a great question!
As I ponder the question in light of what we do, which is first provide timely and accurate numbers and secondly and most importantly connect our clients with their numbers as their virtual CFO, I am once again reminded of the importance of our numbers informing our decision making.
You see our numbers tell us a story.
We have our actual numbers which are a reflection of what has happened, and we have our forecasted numbers which are a projection of what we desire to happen. The power of these numbers is they give us a compass for how we are going to spend our time energy and money. They empower us to make informed decisions based on what we know today (or as my Mom used to say, “with the shoes we have on our feet at the time”).
Then life happens.
And yes things will not go as planned or hoped for. That is life. So now what?
We go back to our numbers and ask what worked, what didn’t and what’s next. The only time something can truly be considered a failure is if we do the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
So how are you making your decisions? Are your numbers helping you to make good decisions?
If you have numbers that aren’t helpful and or if you aren’t sure how to read your numbers so they can help you, we are here to help! This is not a skill you are taught in school so reach out now and let’s talk!
In Abundance,
Sue
www.abundanceaccounting.com
www.themasteryofmoney.com
