PATROLMEN'S DISPATCH
 
  • Local and National News
  • Women on the Move
  • Spotlight: Mental Health
  • Financial Planning and Education
  • Mental Fitness: The Serial Decision Maker

Fish or Cut Bait

3/3/2019

Comments

 
Picture
​A New Use for an Old Cliché: Fish or Cut Bait
 
When you hear that it is time to fish or cut bait, it is time to make a decision.  Of this, I am certain.  What I am not certain of is exactly what is being decided.  I think the choice is whether to act or take more time before you act.
 
Clearly, the fact that this cliché involves decision making has caught my attention.  There are a couple of problems, however, with the fishing simile.  If fishing were a legitimate option, wouldn’t you have already cut bait?  Also, aren’t there other options to consider?
 
Your decision-making process should be a purposeful, deliberate, and personal exercise that you have developed and fine tuned while making different types of decisions preferably over a prolonged period of time.  Yes, you will often face a deadline when you are deciding, but if you are the one who is going to make the call, you should also have a say in when that call is made.
 
If I am asked to make a decision that in anyway feels like an ultimatum or that is being unnecessarily rushed, one of my personal rules is to always say no.  My experience has taught me that rushed decisions are almost always the wrong decisions.  This does not mean that I am a slow decision maker.  I tend to make decisions pretty quickly, all things considered, but I can do so because I am following my own process that I have worked on and honed for years.
 
Sticking with the simile, if someone were to tell me that it was time to fish or cut bait, the latter would have already been completed and the choice wouldn’t be applicable.  I would be thinking about whether I was going to fish or do something else.  Fish or swim?  Maybe, fish or go to the grocery store, since the purpose of my fishing trip would likely be to catch dinner.
 
Talking about fish and decisions reminds me of a favorite saying of one of my favorite people, “You never saw a fish on the wall with his mouth shut.”  This is a great lesson and a reminder that a key to good decision making is to be a good listener.  I have always learned more when my mouth has been shut and, strangely, I never know as much as I think I know when my mouth is open.  On that note, I think I’ll stop talking.  It’s time to go fishing!
 
 By Scott Arney, Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Patrolmen’s Federal Credit Union.
This article is part of Arney's new series, entitled A New Use for an Old Cliché.
This installment is part of Arney's educational series, entitled The Serial Decision Maker.

Comments
    Picture

    The Serial Decision

    ​Maker
     

    Patrolmen's Dispatch is honored to feature the insightful blog of Scott Arney, CEO, Chicago Patrolmen's Federal Credit Union.   

    Here you will enjoy excepts from Arney's educational series, "The Serial Decision Maker," which includes such  off-shoots as "Decision Points," "A New Use for an Old Cliche," "Arney's Notable Quotables,"  and  "The Super Hero Series." You will also find a wealth of financial insight under the "Financial Literacy" category. 

    Scott is a "true blue" thought-leader, who has served as the CEO of a full-service financial institution for Law Enforcement Officers and their families for nearly two decades. Among his many accomplishments is the development of the Credit Union's Financial Planning and Education Center, which is committed to empowering members through education.  ​

    Categories

    All
    A New Use For An Old Cliché
    Arney's Notable Quotables
    BIO: Scott Arney
    Decision Point
    Financial Literacy
    #MoveOver Project
    Super Hero Series
    The Serial Decision Maker

    RSS Feed

Patrolmen's Dispatch is brought to you by National Police Credit Union, the first and only full-service financial institution created solely for Law Enforcement Officers and their families across the country. #WeBackTheBlue

​#FollowTheDispatch