DECISION TOOL

What is your postponed decision costing you?

A postponed decision has no line in the accounts. This calculator gives it one. Enter rough numbers; the point is the order of magnitude, not the decimal.

Currency Unit Annual value once the decision is made The yearly profit, saving or cash release you expect once you act. Running cost of the status quo, per month Extra cost of carrying the current position: capital tied up, losses, management time. Leave at 0 if unsure. Months already postponed Further months before you expect to decide How fast the window is closing Competitors move, buyers change their minds, talent leaves. Pick the pace that fits your market.

COST OF WAITING SO FAR–Value forgone plus running cost over the months already postponed.

COST OF WAITING LONGER–What the further delay you expect will add.

EVERY WEEK OF FURTHER DELAY–The number to put on the next meeting’s agenda.

VALUE LOST FOR GOOD, PER YEAR–How much smaller the annual prize becomes as the window closes.

How the numbers work

Each month of delay forgoes one-twelfth of the annual value and adds one month of running cost. The window setting reduces the annual value that is still available by the chosen rate for each year of total delay, compounded. The calculator ignores discounting and execution risk, so treat the result as a floor for the running cost and an estimate for the rest. It runs entirely in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Before you act on the number

Ask what evidence would settle the decision, and set a date by which it must arrive. Most postponed decisions are waiting for information nobody has formally asked for. The RavenArc Decision Method sets out the six questions to work through, and The cost of the decision you haven’t made explains why good leaders postpone in the first place.