The Business Decision You Are Avoiding

You Probably Already Know

There is a business decision lingering in the back of your mind. Maybe it involves an employee you need to confront, an expense that no longer makes sense, a partnership that is not working like it used to, or a client who no longer clears your return-on-hassle baseline. You have thought about it, prayed about it, and possibly talked it through with someone you trust. And if you are honest with yourself, you already know what you need to do.

I have been there more times than I care to admit. Sometimes I needed more information before making a decision. Other times I was looking for information that would give me permission to choose a different answer. There is a difference between delaying a decision because you need wisdom and delaying because you do not like what wisdom is telling you. Some business decisions require patience. Others require courage to act.

When Patience Becomes Procrastination

Waiting often feels like the responsible thing to do. We tell ourselves we need to gather more information, sleep on it another night, or pray about it a little longer. Each of those things has its place, and a rushed decision can create problems that patience might have prevented. But sometimes waiting has very little to do with gathering more information. We know the conversation will be uncomfortable, or the decision might cost us money, damage a relationship, or force us to admit that the plan we believed would work is not working. In those moments, delay feels safer than action.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” Business rarely gives us perfect conditions. At some point, gathering more information becomes procrastination.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

One of the mistakes people make in business is assuming that postponing a decision keeps everything on hold. They think the problem will wait for them to solve it, but that’s not how it works. Doing nothing is still a decision, and the situation usually continues changing while we wait.

If you keep the wrong employee six months longer than you should have, the rest of the team feels the effect. When you continue serving a client who consumes more time and energy than the relationship deserves, someone pays the price, and that someone is you. It’s the return-on-hassle issue I mentioned at the beginning of this article. The decision you avoid making today becomes a different and larger decision tomorrow. The cost of procrastinating can show up in team morale and in the mental energy you burn replaying the issue over and over in your mind.

Why We Avoid the Decision

So why do smart, capable businesspeople avoid decisions they already know they need to make? Sometimes it is fear of conflict. We do not want to lose a client relationship. We do not want an employee to become angry. Sometimes it is money. We worry about cash flow, losing a commission, or giving up revenue we need to keep the business moving forward. Those concerns are real, but they do not make procrastination the right decision.

But here’s the deal. Sometimes we delay because we keep asking God for clarity when He already gave us the answer. We just don’t like what He said.

The Problem of Knowing

James 4:17 is uncomfortable because it removes one of our favorite excuses. “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” There’s a difference between not knowing the right thing to do and knowing what is right but refusing to act.

James uses this verse to connect knowledge with responsibility. Once we understand what we are supposed to do, pretending we are still confused does not remove the responsibility that comes with knowing.

Eventually the question has to change from “What should I do?” to “Why am I refusing to act on this?” Regular readers of my articles know that prayer belongs in business decisions. It is appropriate to ask God for wisdom and to expose something you may have missed. But after you ask, it’s time to listen. Do not let continued prayer become an excuse to postpone action. I’m as guilty as anyone of asking God for another sign when what I really wanted was a different answer. But there comes a time when prayer is supposed to prepare us to move.

The Mirror Moment

What decision came to mind while you were reading this article? How long have you known what you need to do? What explanation have you been giving yourself for waiting?

Maybe the reason is legitimate. You truly need more information. The timing may be wrong, or you may need a clearer understanding of the consequences. If that is the case, take the time you need.

But it’s time to distinguish wisdom from fear.

If the answer is already clear, what are you really waiting for? James does not confront us with something we do not know. He confronts us with what we already know, and with the responsibility to act on it.

Turn One Decision Into Action

Pick one decision you know you need to act on. Only one. Write it down, then write one sentence explaining why you have not acted. Be specific. Fear of conflict. Financial concerns. Pride. Then identify the next step.

Do not let today become tomorrow. It’s time to turn your decision into action.

Walk the Road This Week

God never promised that obedience would remove every uncomfortable consequence from our work.

Bring the decision before God. Ask Him for wisdom where you genuinely need it, and ask Him for courage where wisdom is no longer the problem.

Then do the next right thing.

You do not need perfect conditions or unanimous approval. You do not need another month to think about a decision you already know you need to make.

Sometimes the peace we keep asking God for begins when we finally stop avoiding the decision He has already made clear.

Let's keep walking the Road together,

Dennis Jones
Founder and Publisher
The Biblical Business Roadmap