Stop Letting “Decision Debt” Run Your Company
Three simple frameworks to cut the noise, make clean decisions and ship by Tuesday.
You don’t drown in bad decisions.
You drown in the ones you never make.
Every delay taxes your team, stalls your pipeline, and compounds into what I call decision debt.
Most “bad decisions” are just lazy non-decisions masquerading as overwhelm.
Decide fast where it’s safe, schedule depth where it matters, and turn every “yes” into motion inside 60 seconds.
You’ll get speed without sloppiness—and you’ll sleep better.
The trap you’re in (and don’t see)
Leaders confuse discussion with decision.
Slack threads look active. Calendars look full. Activity isn’t progress.
Every time you punt a choice, four things happen:
Momentum leaks.
Teams hedge.
Costs creep while you “circle back.”
Competitors don’t wait.
That’s decision debt—interest accruing on every unsigned, unshipped, and unresolved item.
Pay it down daily.
Three hard numbers to make the pain undeniable:
Microsoft’s Work Trend Index shows the average employee spends 57% of their time communicating (meetings, email, chat) and 43% creating. 68% say they don’t get enough uninterrupted focus time, and 62% struggle with time wasted hunting for information. The heaviest users log 8.8 hours/week on email and 7.5 hours/week in meetings.
Asana’s 2025 Anatomy of Work finds 60% of a knowledge worker’s week is “work about work”—coordination, status chasing, and duplicative effort. Over a year that includes ~103 hours in unnecessary meetings and ~209 hours of duplicate work.
Our attention window on a screen averages 47 seconds before switching. That’s not a typo; it’s two‑thirds of a minute.
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
— Peter Drucker
We don’t have a talent problem.
We have a throughput problem—too much coordination, not enough decisions that move the ball.
Framework 1: The 60-Second Rule
Two buckets. That’s it.
Reversible (most of your life): decide now. If it’s easy to unwind, you don’t earn the right to stall.
Irreversible (rare): schedule a real block (not a drive‑by). Put a decision date on the calendar and hold it.
If you’re unsure which bucket you’re in, you’re in the reversible one. Make the call.
Framework 2: The 3×3 Decision Matrix
Judge every choice by importance × reversibility × cost of delay.
Low importance + reversible + any delay cost → Decide today.
High importance + reversible + high delay cost → Decide today with a guardrail (trial, cap, rollback).
High importance + irreversible + low delay cost → Book a 50‑minute deep dive within 72 hours.
High importance + irreversible + high delay cost → Split the atom: commit to a reversible bridge (pilot, LOI, limited rollout) while scheduling the deep call.
Write the verdict in plain English:
“We’re doing X because Y; if Z happens, we stop.”
Put it where the team can see it.
Framework 3: The Yes Plan
Once you say “yes,” turn it into motion—before context evaporates.
Confirm the outcome: “Success = 20 qualified demos by Friday.”
Confirm the next step: “Sales ops loads the list by 2 p.m.”
Confirm time: “Stand‑up tomorrow at 9:40 to review.”
A yes without these three is noise disguised as leadership.
How the pieces snap together
You don’t beat meeting bloat with willpower.
You beat it with a decision engine that routes work the same way every time. The three parts:
1) Triage with the 3×3 Decision Matrix (30–60 seconds).
Ask three questions:
Importance: Is the outcome material? (High / Medium / Low)
Reversibility: Two‑way door or one‑way door?
Cost of delay: What’s the burn per day if we wait? (Low / Medium / High)
Routing:
Reversible + low cost of delay: green‑light a fast decision.
Irreversible or high cost of delay: schedule a short, prepared deep dive.
Middle cases: time‑box a quick validation (see #2), then commit.
2) Decide with the 60‑Second Rule.
If the matrix says “reversible/low‑risk,” decide now.
Pick a direction, set a check‑in, move.
If you need a touch more signal, run a 30‑minute two‑way‑door check by end of day: one doc, two options, one owner, one recommendation.
3) Make it real with The Yes Plan.
Every decision becomes an action in one minute:
Confirm outcome (what “done” means).
Confirm next step (the first irreversible action).
Confirm time (deadline + next checkpoint).
Drop it on the calendar, put a name on it, and publish the one‑liner in the team channel.
Guardrails (the glue that keeps it tight)
One owner, one deadline, one channel per decision.
Two‑way doors (reversible) default to speed. Revisit with data at the checkpoint.
One‑way (irreversible) doors get prep. Pre‑read ≤ 5 slides, 30‑minute meeting cap.
No decision leaves the room without a Yes Plan timestamped in writing.
Escalation is rare and fast. If two owners disagree, the tie‑breaker picks within 24 hours or sends it back as reversible.
Cadence (so it survives contact with Tuesday)
Daily 12‑minute Decision Standup: Yesterday’s Yes Plans → done / blocked / learnings.
Weekly Decision Review (25 minutes):
Top 5 one‑way doors this week
Missed checkpoints (and what we’ll do differently)
Retire standing meetings that no longer earn their keep
Decision example (how this looks at 9:10 a.m.)
Example #1
Issue: Paid search is underperforming. Marketing agency suggests new landing page. Cost: $3K.
Matrix: Medium importance, reversible, high delay cost (every day bleeds).
Call (60 seconds): “Approved. Two‑week test. KPI: $<target CPA>. If we miss by 15%, kill it.”
Yes Plan: Outcome, next step, time.
Example #2
Issue: Considering a new finance lead vs. fractional CFO.
Matrix: High importance, partially irreversible, low delay cost (but drifts if you don’t lock it).
Call: Book a 50‑minute decision block Thursday. Pre‑reads: comp bands, scope, ramp plan.
Yes Plan: Engage fractional 10 hours/week for 30 days—reversible and buys signal.
By lunch, you’ve shipped two decisions, created one bridge, and scheduled the only deep dive that deserves it.
Debt paid down.
Pace restored.
What slows you down (and how to kill it)
“We need more data.” You need a threshold, not a thesis. Define it up front: “If CTR > 1.8% and CAC < $240 by Friday, we scale; if not, stop.”
“Let’s get consensus.” Earn alignment with clarity, not committees. Invite feedback until a set time; decide at that time.
“This is too important to rush.” Correct—so schedule a real session with pre‑work and a decider. Rushing is bad. Drifting is worse.
The Rub
As a leader, pace is your job.
Fast pace doesn’t mean frantic. It means clear priorities, small batch sizes, and visible decisions.
Workers do tasks.
Leaders collapse uncertainty.
Speed is a moat.
It compounds like interest.
Decide faster than competitors and you’ll out‑learn them, out‑ship them, and out‑hire them—without adding headcount.
Do this today
Set a daily “debt burn.” 20 minutes at 4:40 p.m. Clear five stuck decisions using the 60‑Second Rule.
Publish your thresholds. For every active test, write the go/stop math. Share it.
Install The Yes Plan. Every “yes” must include outcome, next step, and time—spoken out loud, written in the channel.
If this saved you an hour (or an ulcer), subscribe and forward to a leader who hoards decisions.
Making fast decisions is discipline + systems not talent or experience.
This is the way.
Hanley
P.S. Have a question? Need help? Click the button below to direct message me.👇
The Finding Peak Podcast
Early this week, we hit #2 in the Apple Business category…
