Accountability: We Have to Live With the Decisions We Make

In this week's episode, Ricardo talks about accountability and the discomfort we face most of the time when making decisions.

Having the chance to make decisions are one of the most significant freedom examples we have. However, it comes with a lot of pain because we do not know precisely a decision is correct or not.

If we take only the professional lens, we have to make decisions constantly, bringing stress, but we have no other option. It is our duty.

And do not think that delay decision is a good option. When you delay decisions, you are deciding anyway: you just chose to do nothing.

This was your decision.

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Episode transcript

The transcript is generated automatically by Podscribe, Sonix, Otter and other electronic transcription services.

Ricardo (4s):
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the five minutes podcast. TOday. I like to talk about accountability and I like to start talking about decision-making and this is one of the most fascinating topics. And also one of the most challenging topics for all of us, the first site, why it's fascinating because it drives us to options. So if you have a decision, power means you have options. You have option a or B, and you need to decide if you want to take a or B, but at the same time, this process comes with a very painful side.

Ricardo (46s):
It's: you need to be able to leave with the decisions you make. You know, the good, the bad, the average, you must leave with that decision because sometimes when we mess up and we decide for something wrong, what we don't want, we don't want to leave. We don't want to have the accountability for the decision. I say, no, it was not me. So, you know, you go in the bank, you stole a bank and then the police catch you. And he, I, what all it was not me. I didn't have the intention. Look, you need to leave with the decision. You should have thought about that before you get inside the bank. So these is exactly what I want to talk to you today.

Ricardo (1m 27s):
Because many times, when we are developing a product, when we are handling an initiative, we have to make decisions and we hope, and we'll use our best judgment to make the best decisions, but it's impossible to make perfect decisions all the time. This is impossible for us. So you need to understand that some decisions will hurt some decisions you will make wrong, and you will have to live with that decision. Many people think that, okay, I don't want to leave with the decisions I make because I'm fearful that if I decide wrongly, I will not be able to cope with that. The pain of making the wrong decisions.

Ricardo (2m 8s):
And I just want to tell you one thing, make no decision is a decision. Do nothing is an option and ease of decision. So every time, and this comes in all aspects of your own life. So if you, for example, you decide to go out and meet with many people with no protection in this COVID time and you get infected and you get someone you love. In fact that you have to leave with that decision. You will have to leave. And this is please. This is not absolutely a political each, just an example, because many times when things go wrong, we don't want to assume that for example, you are responsible for buying supplies for your project.

Ricardo (2m 55s):
And then you delay the decision delay, the decision delay, the decision up to a point that you packed the project scatter, and then you say, no, it was not my fault. No, you have to decide. At some point, someone needs to make a judgment poll and decide. And what can you do to improve your decision-making process? Each, to be more aware, get more information, but there is no information in the planet that will give you a hundred percent confidence that your decision is perfect. You work with assumptions and what you try to pass the assumptions to see if they are acceptable.

Ricardo (3m 36s):
And if they're not, you don't move, but sometimes life is unpredictable. And these is what we are calling this VUCA environment. And these brings me to my second point. It's you can make decisions. You need to leave, but not in a very painful way. So let me explain this. This is the root of this agile methods and design thinking. Instead of you developing a very expensive product and tasks, and if it goes wrong, you lose a lot of money. What you try, you try to make the smaller mistakes. You do something cheap, easy, simple, and you test the market. If the market does not accept, it's a failure, but it's such as more failure that you can live with that.

Ricardo (4m 23s):
And then you may fix, and this is the concept of minimal viable product. So the problem that is viable. So you adjust to say, I thought that this would be extremely good, but the clients do not want that. So you can shift and adapt your decision. This is the key topic. So you need to improve your adaptability. But one thing you need to be aware. There is no such a thing that decide and not being accountable. If you decide you are accountable, these is your professional responsibility, and you will have to leave with that decision, the wonderful decision and the awful decision, and some of them will produce very big and painful scarfs in your life.

Ricardo (5m 11s):
And this is what will make us grow. So I did so many mistakes. So what I hope is that at least I learned, and I will not do it again. So think about that. I hope you enjoy this podcast issue next week with another five minutes podcast.

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