Sublime

With the bin Laden decision, at almost every stage of the process—from the first surveillance of the compound to the final planning of the raid itself—analysts were specifically asked to rate their level of confidence in the assessment they were presenting.

there’s a benefit to making decisions quickly; speed can compensate, somewhat, for misdirection. But there’s being decisive, and then there’s being allergic to course correction. People often mistake this for being principled … it’s not. Your decisions are a guide and an action plan, not a suicide pact.

Fifth, he applied, and followed-through on his PLAN with PERSISTENCE, and backed it with firm DECISION until it had been fully carried out.

Whenever you can, swap “Let’s think about it” for “Let’s decide on it.” Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward.

I should mention one other very important decision reached in 1940. We decided that General Motors should seek to perform the most complicated and difficult production assignments.