How to make better decisions and achieve your goals What shapes a person's career and life, and defines them as a leader? Their decisions. We all want to be more productive and deliver our best results. But doing this effectively—and consistently over time—is a significant challenge. Managing it all is hard, and leading in today's hyper-paced world is even harder. The good news is that leadership expert Steve McClatchy makes it easier. In Decide, McClatchy—who works with Fortune 1000 people every day to help them achieve outstanding levels of performance—shows you how to cut through the complexities and excuses to start realizing real gains simply by changing one thing: the way you make decisions. With McClatchy's help, you can quickly begin to: Use the time you have each day to move your business and your life forward Make decisions that yield better results Waste less time, reduce stress and regain balance Again and again, McClatchy has helped people learn for themselves how great decision-making habits yield a lifetime of accomplishments. Follow McClatchy's no-nonsense and practical approach, and you'll soon manage—and even lead—at your highest level of personal performance.

Table of Contents:
Preface xv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Two Forms of Human Motivation: Gain and Prevent Pain 5 Prevent Pain: I Have to Do It! 9 Do I Really Have To? 11 Attributes of a Gain Task 13 Management versus Leadership 18 The One and Only Exercise I Will Ask You to Do in This Book . . . Brainstorm! 20 Chapter 2 It’s All up to You: Avoid Burnout and Create Balance 23 So Why Take on Gain? 25 The Paradox of Balance 26 Gain Is the Answer to the Balance Crisis 29 Gain and Prevent Pain Must Work Together 33 Chapter 3 Prioritizing Tasks in Relation to Results 35 A New Way to Prioritize 39 Why Is Prioritizing Important? 42 Focus on Results 44 Survival Instincts 49 Breaking Down Gain: Creation versus Consumption 51 Chapter 4 Energy and Motivation: Decide How You Will Get Yours 55 What Can Your Brain Do for You? 58 Energy from Desire: Creation and Consumption 62 Energy from Fear: Procrastination 66 The Final Judgment on Procrastination 72 Chapter 5 What Understanding the Value of Time Can Do for Your Life 75 The Value of a Minute 79 Understanding Where Our Time Goes 81 Make Better Decisions about Your Time 83 You Accomplish Gain by Getting Your Goals on Your Calendar 84 Why Does This Work? 86 Getting Your Goals on Your Calendar: The First Steps 88 Need Some Examples? 90 Leap of Faith 93 Don’t Squeeze It In 95 Chapter 6 Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Planning 97 No Time to Plan? 101 Benefits of a 5-Minute Plan 102 Make It a Habit 108 Chapter 7 Managing Interruptions 109 Stick to the Work Involved 113 Steer It Back by Interrupting Yourself 115 Set Expectations 115 Recover and Get Back to Work! 116 Work Interruptions into and out of Your Schedule 118 Return the Favor 118 Chapter 8 How to Manage It All: Time Management Implementation 121 Organizing Your Information Resources 123 Why Get Organized? 125 Decide and Commit 127 The Keys to Using a Time Management System Effectively 129 What Your System Needs to Do 130 Task Management System: To-Do Lists 131 Calendar 138 They Work Together 139 Being on Time versus Being Late 140 Information Management: Contacts and Notes 143 Touch It Once 145 Chapter 9 Take Action 147 The Power of Your Decisions 149 Decisions Are Like Rules 150 Your Decisions Determine Who You Are 150 Do You Make Leadership Decisions? 152 It’s Not a Competition 153 Building Your Identity as a Leader 156 Don’t Just Think about It. Do It! 157 You Work Too Hard Not to Get the Great Results You Deserve 158 Notes 161 Acknowledgments 163 About Alleer Training and Consulting’s Work with Clients 167 About the Author 169 Index 171