"Decision fatigue? Simplicity overcomes complexity every time" - Futurist Jim Carroll

A shoutout to Christa Haberstock for giving me the idea!

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Each month, I do an email blast to the various speaker bureau folks who have booked me through the years - about 260 people at this point,.

With that being the case, I've come to keep my message - a key way of keeping them up to date - shorter and to the point..

Here's what I sent yesterday. It speaks for itself with powerful guidance that can apply to just about anything.

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Decision fatigue is real. Breaking through is what matters!

Let's talk about why clients can't make up their minds in 2025!

Noticed clients taking forever to pick speakers lately? It's not you - it's decision fatigue!

I remember seeing a post somewhere on LinkedIn recently that something like 1.5 million people have either 'speaker' or 'keynote speaker' in their profile - no wonder clients are feeling overwhelmed.

This is making it difficult for them to select a speaker - and this is combined with the decision fatigue they are already facing.

Decision Fatigue? What's that?

In my 30+ years of speaking about leadership and innovation, I've often shared insights with audiences about the issues people have with making decisions. Here's what I know - simply put, our brains get tired after making too many choices. Each decision uses mental energy, and eventually, we run out of gas. When we run out of gas, we do the easiest thing possible - we stop making decisions.

Recent studies highlight just how real this problem is:

One study suggests we spend 50% of our working day making decisions

- We make 100+ significant decisions daily, plus thousands of micro-choices (emails, word choices, etc.)

- Decision quality drops by up to 40% after making multiple back-to-back decisions

- 73% of professionals report postponing important decisions due to mental fatigue

I've also noticed that decision paralysis becomes significantly worse during periods of volatility.

Back in 2002, I identified what was happening in the meetings and events industry as what I called "aggressive indecision" - people simply refusing to commit to anything due to overwhelming uncertainty.

I think that's where we are at right now.

By the time they're looking at your speaker options, they've already made too many decisions that day. Their brain is basically saying, "Not another choice!"

No wonder they ghost you after initially seeming excited!

They make the decision easy by deferring it, avoiding it, and not thinking about it.

Here's how to make it easier for mentally drained clients - make it easy for them to make decisions.

#Decision #Fatigue #Simplicity #Choices #Focus #Clarity #Overwhelm #Efficiency #Leadership #Action

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2025/04/decoding-tomorrow-your-daily-future-inspiration-decision-fatigue-simplicity-overcomes-complexity-every-time/