Irreversible Decisions

“Some decisions are consequential and irreversible or nearly irreversible—one-way doors—and these decisions must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great deliberation and consultation. If you walk through and don’t like what you see on the other side, you can’t get back to where you were before. We can call these Type 1 decisions. But most decisions aren’t like that—they are changeable, reversible—they’re two-way doors. If you’ve made a suboptimal Type 2 decision, you don’t have to live with the consequences for that long. You can reopen the door and go back through. Type 2 decisions can and should be made quickly by high-judgment individuals or small groups.”

—Jeff Bezos

The distinction between reversible and irreversible decisions should continuously inform the CEO’s decision-making process.

I call it decision triage: the practice of stepping back and examining the nature of the decision before deciding how to approach it.

If it’s an insignificant decision, reversible or not,…