A second lesson came immediately upon entering the dorm. The officer candidates had arrived a day early to get things in order for the training to start. Since they were not “officially” checked in, they needed to head to dinner. The problem was finding out what time they were allowed to eat. They notice 3 or 4 different schedules. Each schedule had different times posted. This made a simple task like eating very difficult. They spent time trying to figure out where they were allowed to eat and at what time. The problem was they were faced with conflicting information. therein lies the great lesson. Often when making a decision we are given incomplete information or information that contradicts itself. It is a regular part of leadership. I cannot count the number of times I have started counseling a couple when I thought I had truthful information, only to find out that one party had given me information that was “less than accurate”.
Before an Air Force Officer starts their training, they are taught that often decisions must be made with inaccurate or conflicting information. I would like to remind you that ministry is no different. We are often called upon to make the best decision possible with the information we have. Sometimes those decisions need to be made quickly, other times we have the time to gather more information. At some point, the decision must be made. At that moment, we make the best decision we can make and we go forward. We made need to evaluate and even change our decision, but we always learn from the process.
THOT – How much time do you spend beating yourself up over a bad decision? How many times have you made a decision, only to find out later that the information you were given was “less than accurate”? Good leadership makes a decision based on the most accurate information at the moment, realizing necessity is forcing an immediate decision.
