Select Zone Arts Digital Tech Eat/Drink Entertainment Extreme Sports The Good Life Music News/Politics Science/Nature Sports/Rec Travel Wealth/Worth

Introduction Unit of One  Fast Co. Zines   Check out Fast Company co-founder Alan Webber's trailblazer page Read other interviews Decision Making Edited by Anna Muoio What does it take to make a "good" decision? Is it about going by facts and percentages - or about following your gut instinct? Does time produce better decisions, or does pressure make you decide not only faster but also more wisely? And finally, is better decision making something that you can learn? We asked decisive leaders, inside and outside of business, to answer these and other, related questions. Jerry Seeman Senior Director of Officiating National Football League New York, New York As a referee, I found that the pressure was the same whether I was officiating a preseason game or a Super Bowl. Being on the field is like being in a fishbowl: Everyone - players, coaches, fans, the media - is waiting for your decision. A successful call depends on three things: You must be in position, you must have a deep knowledge of the game, and you must have intense concentration. Remember, no matter what the reaction to your decision may be, you answer to only one thing: your conscience. Above all, when making a decision, you have to keep your cool. One of the biggest errors that I see officials fall into is making calls too quickly. Each decision has two phases: You read and analyze the play, and then you make the call. But when things happen in a split second, it can be tempting to throw a penalty flag before you know what happened. That's why I tell all of my officials to work in "cruise control." The fans may go crazy, the players and coaches may get excited, but there should be seven people on the field who work every game the same way from beginning to end - and who exude a quiet confidence. Once you make a decision, you'd better be able to communicate it. I remember having to make a call on a bizarre play in a playoff game between Houston and Cleveland. After an attempted onside kick, the kicking team illegally touched the ball, which then went out of bounds. The rules dictate that the kicking team should kick again. That team again tried an onside kick, and again it illegally touched the ball - but this time, it recovered the ball. I called that the receiving team would gain control of the ball on the spot where it was illegally touched. This was a complicated play: The NFL probably hasn't seen another of its kind in the past 15 years. At first, the fans didn't understand my decision. But I explained to them what the proper ruling was, and they accepted it. I was confident about my knowledge of the game. And I didn't lose my cool. Jerry Seeman, one of the most celebrated referees in football history, became an NFL line judge in 1975. He was appointed referee in 1979. His responsibilities now cover the league's supervisory staff, as well as regional game observers, collegiate scouts, and all game officials. Back to Unit of One Copyright © 1999 Fast Company. All Rights Reserved.     Decision Making Your Boss Your Career New Ideas Is Bigger Better?

Copyright © 1998, 1999 ZineZone Corporation, a CMGI company. All rights reserved.