When facing high-pressure situations such as entering a new market, launching a new product, or making a pivotal business shift, it’s tempting to skip crucial steps that could prevent failure. Despite the wealth of books and case studies available on improving decision-making, many leaders still fall into the same pitfalls. These seven steps are tailored to help mitigate risks and enhance decision-making across any industry.

1. Remove bias before it wrecks your strategy

Even the most forward-thinking companies can make illogical decisions by ignoring a crucial challenge: eliminating bias. Issues like groupthink, overconfidence, and confirmation bias can quietly undermine great ideas—leading to decisions driven by ego rather than insight.

The most effective solution? Data, and a substantial amount of it. Whether you’re restructuring a team or introducing a new product, let data challenge the assumptions you hold. Utilize tools such as the AEM-Cube for changes within your organization, and apply Design Thinking approaches for projects that involve customers. Bias is not always apparent, but the cost of ignoring it is significant.

2. Get closer to the right customer with the right research

Many decisions are made in boardrooms, disconnected from those they impact. While metrics and dashboards offer value, they cannot replace genuine customer insight.

Most businesses believe they understand their customers, but few truly do. Create detailed personas, map out the entire customer journey, and invest in ethnographic research. For internal decisions, consider your “customer” to be your team. If employees feel unheard, unseen, or unaligned with your mission, even the most robust strategies can crumble due to cultural resistance.

3. Test fast before you go big

Once you’ve developed a strategy, implement it rapidly and learn swiftly. Conduct small-scale experiments, perform A/B testing, clearly define your offering, and measure every aspect—from product fit and pricing to user experience and delivery.

Let real customer behavior — not internal assumptions — guide your next steps. Pilots aren’t about proving you’re right. They’re about learning what works.

4. Tie decisions to real incentives

Too many change initiatives fail because they ignore human motivation. If you’re not aligning incentives with your new direction, don’t expect people to get on board.

Start with clear internal communication. Then build in feedback loops, transparent compensation structures and tie your mission to purpose-driven rewards. Change without buy-in creates friction. Buy-in without incentives creates apathy.

5. Make sure your capacity can keep up

The right idea in the wrong structure is a guaranteed failure. If your systems, people, or tech can’t handle the growth or change you’re aiming for, capacity will break before the strategy does.

Run stress tests. Evaluate your infrastructure, team readiness and internal workflows. Ask: Can we execute this at scale, or are we just excited by the concept?

6. Stick to a customer-centric strategy

Even great decisions go off the rails without early warning signs and course-correction plans. Identify the signals that indicate a pivot is needed — and stay close to your customers post-launch.

UX research doesn’t end once the product ships. Keep mapping how real users engage with your offering, and adjust accordingly. Consistency with your core personas is your best safeguard against drift.

7. Disrupt yourself before someone else does

If your strategy works, expect competitors to follow. They’ll try to copy your product — or poach your people.

Stay ahead by regularly asking:

• How would someone disrupt us?
• What would it take to replicate our edge?
• Where are we most vulnerable?

Then take small steps to disrupt yourself before anyone else does. Build a culture of reinvention, not complacency.

Final thought

Smart leaders don’t wait for a crisis to think clearly. They build decision-making processes that are bias-proof, customer-led, and test-driven. Whether you’re launching a product or reshaping your org, these seven steps help ensure your bold moves aren’t blind ones.