How I Approach the Toughest Decisions

One of the first things I discovered as President of the United States was that no decision that landed on my desk had an easy, tidy answer. The black-and-white questions never made it to me - somebody else on my staff would have already answered them.

"After becoming president, issues that were easy to decide on didn't even come up on the desk. But I soon realized that it was the president's job to make decisions on these difficult issues. ... I had to find a way to improve the quality of decisions amidst the hectic schedule and exhausting meetings. ... I believed in my team, listened to everyone's voices in the meeting room, took time alone to think, and made decisions that reflected what I felt was right. Although I couldn't guarantee the results, I became confident in my decision-making."

To summarize, it is as follows.

1. I trusted my team.

2. I listened to every voice in the room.

3. I gave myself space to think.

4. And then I made a decision that reflected my own personal sense of what was right.