The success of an enterprise is the sum of decisions made in the course of doing business. It must follow, then, that a manager’s value lies in the quality of his or her decisions. Effective leaders make their decision-making look easy. As with superior athletes or gifted artists, they seem to be relying on instinct and intrinsic gifts, while all the while executing a learned response that is the result of endless practice and discipline. Good decisions hinge on mental clarity. Clarity comes from a state of mental concentration, of focusing thoughts and paying attention. Clarity is reached by training the mind to be precise and accurate in its definitions, assumptions and evaluations.
Having worked with hundreds of CEOs of various size companies in many industries, I have concluded that there is a state of mind — a clarity state — that the decision maker must reach in order for a good decision to come together. The clarity state is characterized by a balance of physical, mental and emotional systems. According to findings in both neuroscience and sports physiology, it is actually a measurable physical and emotional state of being relaxed, positive and focused. Neuroscientists confirm that reaching that state of coherence enables us to use more of our brain power than we normally do. Athletes and trainers have come to realize that reaching that... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
Become a premium subscriber today to read this and all MIT Sloan Managmeent Review articles.
Buy this article. Purchase one or more copies of this article in PDF form.
Become a premium subscriber today to read this article and the entire archive of MIT SMR articles.
Upgrade your existing subscription to premium
Sign in if you are a premium subscriber.
Do you subscribe the MIT Sloan Management Review in print? Enter the email address and password you used when ordering. Don't remember? Lookup your subscription account information
- Register for free access to recent articles and the current issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.
- Subscribe and read articles from the past three years online.
- Premium subscription give you access to the entire archive of articles.

