The More Important the Decision the Longer It Should Take.

In September last year, two Qantas Airbus aircraft with a combined total of more than 600 passengers almost collided.

The Air Transport Safety Bureau classified the incident as 'Serious'. It stated that it expected the investigation to be completed 'no later than September 2014.'

More than a year later and a month after the anticipated completion date the investigation remains Active.

The more important a decision, the longer it should take to make.

Interested third parties will be patient if the decision maker manages their expectations.

Underpromise and Overdeliver.

If the decision is likely to take a month, predict two and make it in one and a half.

Artificially compressing decision time adds drama and gravity and importance to the decision - and thus to the decision maker's prestige.

Widget focus - keeping the end result in mind - can help to settle the ego.

The ATSB can take time to learn from how several hundred lives were almost lost in circumstances that are repeated thousands of times daily in the skies.

There are few workplace decisions that can't allow the same.