What Stop Sign? What Decision?

Here are just a few comments from observers of stop sign violators and random ignorance...

A Stop Sign Means STOP.

“I'm at a loss. Today, on my run, another car ran right through a stop sign and almost hit me and my dog. The driver? A POLICE OFFICER. When I flagged him down to inform him that he almost hit me, he couldn't have been more indignant. No apology. What a TOTAL ass. The cops don't even stop.”

“This jerk sped off after he made very clear that he really didn't give a sh*t about almost running me over.”

“How stupid are these people? I recently moved to an area where you see people run stop signs all the time. They risk getting themselves killed, killing someone else, or injuring someone else who then decides to sue them. So how intelligent are people who voluntarily put themselves at greater risk for such occurrences?”

“Ran five miles today ... almost got run over three times. All cars rolling through stop signs while making right turns and only looking to the left for cars. *&#@$!”

“Here's something interesting ... an police officer message board discussing how they hardly ever issue tickets to people who don't stop at a stop sign because rolling through is so common.”

“Here's a funny one ... some woman ON A CELL PHONE runs a stop sign, almost hits my friend Jill, then FLIPS HER OFF. Unbelievable.”

“A kid in my neighborhood did a study. In a 20-minute time period, he watched a an intersection. Out of 87 cars that passed through, only 9 came to a complete stop. Some rolled through, others completely ignored the stop sign. Later, the kids passed out flyers to our neighbors urging them to STOP.”

“Every time I run or walk my dog I almost get hit by a driver that runs a stop sign or red light. I'm urging EVERYONE ... Please STOP.”

ZDT Author's Comments:

Think about it... to be in true compliance of a stop sign, you must first realize that the sign exists, and that violating the rule (and law) can have serious consequences...sometimes lethal.

This dilemma applied to decisioning should carry no less weight. The fist rule in decisioning is to acknowledge that there is a decision to be made, and that avoidance and/or ignorance can carry consequences much like ignoring or not complying with the stop sign.

The tangible difference is that the stop sign can be policed, awarded citations and issued penalties...whereas, the decision (or lack of) has it's own reward.

Question: Should we reconsider the importance of decisiong? Should we use a Stop Sign as a new “trigger” to remind ourselves of this responsibility?

As always...you decide.

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Decisioning: Provocation or Benign?

Our Zillion Dollar Thinking site and blog now has a life of almost two years. As such, we have posted hundreds of topics...all around the subject of “decisioning.”
As a contributing writer in another forum, I sparked several comments and responses to a recent article. The rhetoric was sharp and provoking which drove me to this topic. To be effective, and hopefully persuasive, should the primary messages be provocative or benign?

Provocative:

Synonyms: challenging, provoking, stimulating, confrontational, inflammatory, offensive, incendiary, insulting, rabble-rousing, aggressive, annoying, aggravating, vexing

Benign:

Synonyms: encouraging, superficial, complaisant, sympathetic, propitious, refreshing, charitable

Obviously, the safe and kind style would be benign, but probably not too motivational. Conversely, staying primarily caustic and provocative, could conjure up a bunch of hate mail.

So what's a writer to do?

All of the above.

Some of the greats (Re: Seth Godin et al.) are razor sharp in delivery and response. But, how many Seths are out there? Point is, to me and you, let's challenge each other to stay relevant in today's market (from provocative to benign), and if you see me getting sleepy...feel free to wake me up.

Zillions to your success.