Connect all decisions to a worthy purpose
- a better way of decision-making

By Wayne Burleson

Part #1 in a 3-part series called: TURNING POINT 

Change is probably the only constant thing in the today's world. As we are told to be successful, we'd better have a good, comprehensive, well-thought-out plan. The problem lies within this definition, because the real test for success comes not from our original planning efforts, but on how well we handle change.

A wise, older dairy farmer once told me, "Wayne, you can develop the best plan that money can buy, but real success comes when making sound decisions during adversity."  He was right, because severe drought, an abrupt market shift, a monumental family crisis or large equipment breakdowns can send the best well-thought-out planning process back to the drawing board in a nanosecond.

If these statements are true, then we'd better come up with a sound way of dealing with change. I like to call this new kind of decision-making - Turning Point - a purpose-driven way of making good decisions, especially during the muck of unexpected adversity.

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."  I take heed of this by connecting important decisions to a common and shared worthy purpose.

How do we do this?

It starts off with individuals writing a personal mission statement that gives direction for their whole life...that is, by being more aware of who you are and what's most important to you.

To start this kind of decision-making process, answer the following three questions: (Note that you can do it as individuals, a group or a business. This information is based upon the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management - Holistic Goal Setting.)

#1. VALUES
What do I (we) believe in?  Name and list the things that are most important to me (us).

#2. QUALITY OF LIFE
How do I (we) want to live daily? State the kind of life I (we) want.

#3 PURPOSE STATEMENT
Name the main purpose - the real core reason why I (we) want to live this way.

Once these three questions are answered, the real test comes by using them to make decisions. For example, I was faced with a decision about a problem with an irrigation ditch. Our neighbor's ditch runs directly through our property and, when full, it has the potential to flood our home.

One day last summer this irrigation ditch was starting to leak and heading toward the house. I was not home and my wife called the busy neighbor and told them the ditch was starting to overflow. He stopped and immediately came to check the ditch and out of this came a bigger problem. Who can use this 75-year-old ditch and who's responsible to take care of it?

I was faced with having a discussion about this ditch with our neighbor. Somehow I had let the use of this ditch build up inside of me where I thought there was the potential for a big problem. As I formulated what to do about it, I just happened to think of my personal mission statement, which says to help people experience a better life (together) at home, work and on the land. I slowed down on the complaining side of this problem and started to look deeper at my own attitudes and found the true location of the problem. This took me about a week to do. Ah ha, a breakthrough, the problem was inside of me!

This is that turning point I keep talking about - that is, being able to locate where change is really needed. The problem was not in my neighbor, it was inside of me. Once I discovered this, I was ready to make a better decision about what to do about the irrigation problem.

So instead of complaining about the ditch, I came up with a "We Idea." We should fix this ditch so that it would never be able to overflow again. So with a backhoe my neighbor built up the lower bank higher than the water level could ever reach.

I'm sure that my personal mission statement helped me make a better decision than if I would have had that complaining conversation with our neighbor. Truthfully, it's a hard call to be humble. Take it from me, it's better to work on yourself first before confronting a potential neighborhood problem.

A good one-liner to remember when faced with a similar problem to resolve is that humility is strength under control.

Today we have a safer irrigation ditch, and my neighbor and I are still very good friends and true neighbors. That's very important to me.

I will continue to learn more about becoming a peacemaker, and let my mission statement guide my decisions more than just letting my personal emotions control my reactions. This is a big deal these days.

We all need to get rid of this "me-itis" problem. My hope is that other people will also self-discover that they, too, possess the power to choose between conflict or peace. And to wisely use these potential conflict situations as turning points to better control their reactions, rather than letting personal attitudes get in the way of good purpose-driven decision-making.

Wayne Burleson is a management consultant working out of Absarokee, MT. You can visit with Wayne at 406/328-6808 or E-mail him at rutbuster@montana.net.