Many years ago, someone said to me:  “You need to look out for unintended consequences.” 

When we make decisions, people usually don’t think about the ultimate results.  They make a decision based on the moment.  But don’t give any thought to what that decision really means.  Therefore, unintended consequences happen.

Business is an emotional pursuit.  But we also have to think logically.  If we do this, what happens?  If we do that, what happens? 

Many times people will act quickly to only later regret their decision.  For example:  In haste you fire someone, but then have no replacement.  You see a product on sale you use in your business and you buy an extra supply of the product only to find out later you are not using that particular product any more.  Or you decide to move to a new building or build a new warehouse only to discover it would have been smarter to have remained at the old location.

Sometimes it’s the right thing to do to fire the employee, buy extra supplies or move to a new location.  But always think through your actions so you don’t have to regret your decisions or the potential unintended consequences of those decisions – especially in these difficult economic times.