The Hidden Cost of Fuzzy Decisions

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The COO looked at his calendar and frowned. "We need another meeting about the AI project. I'm still not clear on who owns what."

Six weeks ago, this leadership team made a reasonable decision: "Let's pilot an AI solution for customer service." Simple enough.

But they didn't define success metrics, assign a single decision-maker, or clarify what "pilot" meant and how long it might last. Three months? Six? Until it works perfectly?

Six weeks later, that one unclear decision has spawned seventeen meetings, forty-three emails, and three competing vendor evaluations. The original $50K pilot budget has already consumed $30K in internal time.

This is the meeting tax...the hidden cost of decisions that aren't decisions.

The Arithmetic of Unclear Decisions

Here's how the meeting tax compounds in a typical company:

An unclear directive from the C-suite creates two meetings for each direct report to "clarify expectations." Each of those meetings involves five people for an hour. Each of those five people schedules follow-up conversations with their teams.

Within two weeks, one fuzzy decision has consumed roughly 60 person-hours of senior-level time. That is real money wasted on meetings. The opportunity cost of decisions not made and problems not solved runs much higher.

But there's damage that isn't financial. Some of the most impactful damage is cultural. Teams start hedging their bets. They build consensus instead of taking ownership. They schedule meetings to schedule meetings.

What Clear Decisions Look Like

Good decisions feel almost boring when you write them down.

Instead of: "Let's explore AI for customer service."

Try: "Sarah will evaluate three customer service AI platforms and recommend one by March 15th. She has a $75K budget for implementation. If none meet our criteria, we table this for Q3."

The difference? You've named a decision-maker, set a deadline, defined success, and created an exit ramp.

Notice what this doesn't include: committee oversight, consensus requirements, or vague success metrics like "improved efficiency."

The Questions That Cut Through Fog

Before your next decision leaves the room, ask:

Who wakes up tomorrow knowing they're accountable for this outcome? If the answer is "the team" or "we all are," you haven't made a decision.

What would failure look like in three months? If you can't describe it specifically, you can't recognize success either.

What are we not going to do as a result of this choice? Real decisions close off options. If everything is still possible, nothing has been decided.

The 48-Hour Rule

Try this: After every significant decision, send a one-paragraph email within 48 hours summarizing what was decided, who owns it, and when you expect an update.

If you can't write that paragraph clearly, you didn't make a decision...you had a conversation.

This simple habit cuts the meeting tax by roughly half. More importantly, it forces the clarity that prevents most follow-up confusion.

The best part? Your team will start preparing for meetings differently when they know you'll ask for that summary.

P.S. The fastest way to identify unclear decisions? Look at your recurring meeting invites. If the same topic appears week after week, you probably haven't decided anything yet.

The meeting tax isn't inevitable. It's the predictable result of treating decisions like discussions. The fix isn't better meeting software or communication tools. It's the discipline to finish what you start with clarity, accountability, and real deadlines.

If you're leading a team and finding that decisions don't stick, that's precisely the organizational challenge I help leaders work through. You can find me at ericbrown.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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