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Rob’s Rule of Three: How Leaders Make Decisions When Everything’s on Fire
We’ve all been there. Someone bursts into your office (or sends you a message on Teams) with their hair on fire. “Everything is broken! The system is down! Customers are complaining!”
Your adrenaline spikes. Your brain starts racing. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best leaders don’t rush to react. They don’t speed up, they slow down, assess, and respond with clarity. Ever hear of the OODA loop? Did you know that late commitment is an important element of agility?
My experience handling many a supposed Chernobyl meltdowns has led me to what I call Rob’s Rule of Three. It’s my personal framework that I’ve used for years to successfully cut through the noise and make decisions under stress. You too can be a successful executive IF you can just…
…keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…
To remind myself, my team and my organization of the importance of these rules I wrote them on my whiteboard. When someone brought me a “problem” they were reminded of them.
Rob’s Rule of Three
1. Is it really a problem?
2. Is it my problem to solve?
3. If yes, do I need to solve it right now?
