Do you have a decision to make? Is it keeping you awake at night?

With several options to choose from, you can get analysis paralysis–which is just plain old fear. But it doesn’t always have to be either/or, does it?

Your choice doesn’t have to be perfect and it will seldom be catastrophic. 

Seek feedback from people you trust–even your teenager might reveal something you hadn’t considered.

Get all the information available. And then proceed.

In 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died from Tylenol contaminated with cyanide.

With mass panic imminent, Johnson & Johnson’s CEO, James E. Burke, had a decision to make. He could deny company responsibility. He could wait for the FDA to investigate and see what developed. But instead he took action.

Burke issued a recall and cooperated with the media. He established a hotline and helped to pioneer the tamper proof packaging that is standard now.

This decision cost the company 100 million dollars, equivalent to 300 million today. Johnson & Johnson’s stock tanked. But eventually the brand rebounded, because Burke’s courageous action restored the public’s trust.

Today’s Peace of Wisdom can be found when you decide well…and act.