how founders actually decide.
not inspiration, and not a checklist for feeling better. the mechanics of stalled decisions, what they cost, and how to close them. start with the full guide, or pick a piece below.
founder decision fatigue is not tiredness. it is a pile.
every article about decision fatigue tells you how it feels. this one is about what it costs, and why the usual advice does not touch it.
analysis paralysisanalysis paralysis starts the moment information stops changing your answer.
research feels like progress. that is what makes it such a good hiding place. here is how to tell which one you are doing.
getting unstuckstuck on a business decision? name which of the three is holding it.
decisions do not stall for one reason. they stall for three, and the fix for each is different. most people apply the wrong one.
the question itselfwhy can't i decide?
usually it is not the reason you think. here are the four that actually show up, and the one that means the answer is not a productivity fix.
a decision, walked throughshould i raise my prices?
this is the decision founders sit on longest. not because it is complicated, but because it is exposed. here is a way to work it through.
templatea decision log template you'll actually fill in
most decision logs are abandoned by week three. not from lack of discipline. they just ask for more than a decision is worth at the moment you make it.
frameworksthe pre-mortem: assume it already failed
asking "what could go wrong" gets you a shrug. asking "it went wrong, explain how" gets you the real list. the difference is not psychological trickery, it is grammar.
frameworksone-way doors and two-way doors
the most common decision mistake is not deciding wrongly. it is spending one-way-door care on a two-way-door call, and the reverse.
frameworksthe 10/10/10 rule
three questions, under a minute, and it works best on exactly the decisions where you are least able to think clearly.
frameworkssecond-order thinking: and then what?
almost every decision that went badly was correct at the first step. the damage was at the second and third, which nobody looked at.
frameworksdecision matrices, and when they lie to you
a scoring grid produces a number, and a number feels like an answer. sometimes it is one. often it is your existing preference with arithmetic painted on it.