This is the last post in a five part series on decision making.

There simply are no second chances these days.  The wrong decision can be your last decision.  Leadership teams flailing in an environment where decisions are based on emotion and not clear data are in a hopeless situation.  A year ago I sat down with a CFO and CEO of a privately held $20M company.  The CFO was antsy about the market and presented a case for cutting about $900k in expenses.  Since the CEO was emotionally attached to a number of these expenditures, she was never able to pull the trigger.  Twelve months later, this company is on the sales block, barely making payroll and will probably sell for a steep discount from their earlier valuation.

But it does not have to be that way, even in the toughest of times.  Leaders that understand what drives value in their companies can narrow their focus to only those components of the business that add value.  Leaders able to inspire their entire leadership team with a new course of direction will be able to motivate them to buy into the risk and return associated with your transformational initiatives.  Your leadership and ability to make good decisions will help your team navigate through the choppy waters of this current economic situation and position your company to grow and build value just as the economy rebounds.