Episode #538
There is no perfect decision. Strong leaders make the best call they can with the information available, then remain willing to adjust when new facts emerge.
Fear can keep individuals and entire organizations from moving forward. Preparation, knowledge, and critical thinking help us respond to pressure instead of reacting to it.
Leadership begins with self-leadership. Before you can guide a team through change, you must learn to manage your own fear, beliefs, and responses.
Learning does not have to be limited to your profession. Sports, music, art, aviation, and other interests can strengthen creativity, confidence, discipline, and problem-solving.
Change can become an opportunity when we choose how to respond to it. Gratitude, knowledge, and faith give us a stronger foundation for navigating uncertainty.
“There is absolutely nothing you can do about what you were born into. But there’s everything you can do about the way you respond to that.”
“Leadership is dynamic, it’s not static, it changes every day.”
“There’s no such thing as the perfect decision. You make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time.”
You’re staring at a decision you need to make.
You have enough information to move, but not enough to feel certain. So you keep researching, revisiting the options, and waiting for the moment when the answer feels obvious.
Jim Keyes knows that moment well. He spent 20 years at 7-Eleven, including five as CEO, and later led Blockbuster through the 2008 financial crisis. He has made decisions with employees, investors, and entire companies depending on the outcome.
And his answer is refreshingly human: there is no perfect decision.
You make the best decision you can with the information you have. When new information comes in, you adjust and explain why.
In this episode of “Success for the Athletic-Minded Man,” Jim and I talk about how fear affects judgment and what his training as a pilot taught him about responding under pressure.
We also get into why learning outside your profession matters. Jim paints, plays piano, flies airplanes, and still plays softball. Each one has taught him something he has carried back into leadership.
The conversation goes deeper into belief, faith, and gratitude. Jim explains why he sees knowledge and faith as two ways to reduce fear, and why the first words he says every morning are simply, “Thank you.”
If you’ve been carrying a decision longer than you should, this episode will help you think about what you know, what you still need to learn, and how to move without waiting for certainty. Tune in now!
James W. Keyes is known internationally as a business and social change agent. Currently spearheading several initiatives in the tech, art, and education space, his career has included serving as Chief Executive Officer of two Fortune 500 companies, 7-Eleven, Inc. and Blockbuster, Inc., and serving on numerous civic boards. Now, a best-selling author, Keyes has written Education is Freedom: The Future is In Your Hands.
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