You Don’t Need Certainty. You Need Five Reasons.
Senior leaders don’t need perfect certainty. They need five defensible reasons to act. A practical rule for decisive, grounded leadership.
The Five Reasons Decisions Test
When leadership feels noisy, simplify the decision.
During a recent meeting with a valued client, he reminded me of something I’d worked on years ago, the Five Reasons Rule for decision making. I’d almost forgotten about it.
I love how your brain get's reminded of things when they're relevant and ready to be brought back out of the memory bank! So after our conversation, I dug out my old notes and sent them over.
His reply was simple: “I really like this.”
This is an experienced, successful leader, someone managing stragetic risk and reward, recognising the value of something straightforward.
And it made me think. At Brainy Podcasts, Soraya and I regularly talk about what pressure does to the brain. High cortisol narrows thinking. It pushes leaders into defensive decision-making, delay, or over-analysis.
Under stress, we either rush… or we freeze - that flight or freight mode we all recognise. This rule was built to do neither.
It was built to provide a simple and grounded structure, that gives confidence to the decisions you then need to live by.
Because one reason can be bias.
Two can be convenience.
Three might still be wishful thinking.
Why Five?
What counts as a real reason?
It's not...
“It feels right.”
“I don’t want to miss out.”
“I’m scared not to.”
It is...
It aligns with where I’m heading.
It stretches me in a useful way.
Staying where I am is creating limbo state.
The downside is manageable.
The data is directionally supportive.
It protects or builds something that matters.
It moves energy forward rather than keeps me stuck.
Reflection
Before you close this page, ask yourself:
Can I name five solid reasons to move?
If the answer is yes, what am I actually waiting for?
Leadership isn't about eliminating uncertainty, it's about moving with sufficient clarity.
Five forces you to think properly.
Five makes you articulate the case.
Five makes you separate impulse from intention
If you can calmly state five grounded reasons why something makes sense, you probably already know what you need to do.
What this rule protects you from
Endless circling.
Seeking reassurance from everyone else.
Calling overthinking “due diligence.”
Waiting for a moment that feels safer than it will be.
Most decisions don’t come with certainty; they come with enough validation.
Why I like it.
Because it builds self-trust.
And self-trust is a leadership advantage.
Action creates feedback.
Feedback creates clarity.
Clarity sharpens the next decision.
You don’t need perfect foresight.
Where leaders get stuck
Leaders rarely delay because they lack information.
They stall because:
The decision changes power dynamics.
The decision exposes performance gaps.
The decision carries political cost.
The decision requires visible commitment.
The decision could be wrong.
In practice, this shows up in delayed hiring decisions. Deferred strategy calls. Projects half-approved but not fully backed. Everyone sensing direction, no one committing to it.
The Five Reasons Rule avoids inertia.
You only need five. If you can get to five easily, that’s information too.
If you reach five and continue to delay, the blocker is no longer logic, it’s appetite.
And that is a different conversation.
The leadership edge
Decisiveness builds confidence at the top.
Not reckless speed.
Not bravado.
Clear rationale.
Owned risk.
Forward movement.
Action creates data.
Delay creates inertia.
Five reasons.
Then lead.
