… be constantly followed around by a marching band always playing your theme song or a mime mimicking your every move?
Also, is it weird this question makes me a little weepy? Not because I have sappy memories of bands or mimes. But because the quintessential “would you rather” game was once a fixture at a dinner table no longer populated by the kiddo who’s left for college.
But the great news? I’ve found a new home for this timeless game.
These days — because that ol’ swirl of chaos and uncertainty refuses to abate — I’m working with leadership teams struggling to make hard decisions. Whether at quarterly offsites or working sessions, the toll of decision-making is weighing heavy.
So I’m building and running sessions to help leaders find ease and alignment. And I’m using my trusty “Would You Rather” deck of cards to kick things off.
Why? I’m finding that using it as a warm-up — paired with nostalgic candy to put us in the mindset of levity and youth — is a simple way to activate just the muscles these leaders need in the moment.
Here’s the thing about hard choices: There is no right answer. I learned this years ago when I discovered Ruth Chang’s TED talk, where she says the key to making hard decisions isn’t getting to the right answer. As there isn’t one. It’s about choosing the best option in service of the outcomes you want — and then? Committing to it.
We don’t find the right one. We make it so.
Decision-making is one of the most mission-critical skills a leader needs to demonstrate today. Teams are looking for guidance, direction. And the key for leaders is to recognize they don’t need 100% confidence in a decision to make it. What they need is a reasonable level of confidence plus100% commitment to the choice.
So how am I working with teams here? Well, beyond playing dinner-table games, here’s how I’m approaching this.
Step 1: Define the Destination
Options can’t be weighed in a vacuum. “Is it better to go left or right?” can only be answered when we know which direction our destination is in.
So we start by defining the destination.
When a team is struggling to clarify which customer segment to prioritize, which product feature to amplify, which tools to invest in…we begin with the question: “In service of what?”
I facilitate a conversation around priorities. We can have many — but they can’t all be number one. So what’s most essential right now?
Is it top-line growth? Cost-containment? Operational efficiency? Customer retention?
Having a clear sense of direction helps us land on the best option for now.
Step 2: Gather & Weigh
From there, we put our options on the table and move through questions like…
- What do we know? (data, experiences, etc.)
- What further data/intel do we need?
- What must we learn by doing?
- What’s holding us back from making this decision?
- How do we best contain the risk in this decision?
These discussion questions move us through the funnel toward relative (but never total) clarity.
Step 3: Commit
And finally? We land on commitment. We ask ourselves not ‘how do we know this is the right decision,’ but ‘how do we ensure this becomes the best decision?’
From there, you just make it so.
Reader, perhaps this is just the roadmap you need. If so, I’m wishing you nothing but luck in your path toward clarity.
But honestly. Would you rather run this conversation with your team while trying to be a participant, or work with a skilled facilitator who shows up bearing nostalgic candy and can steer the ship while you engage fully in the discussion?
If your team is sitting with a hard choice right now, let’s talk it through. Send me a message and tell me what’s on your mind, or grab a slot on my calendar for a brainstorm. I’ll bring the insights (and maybe the candy too).