WINGMAN
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The Decision Workbook

Find your next move.

You do not need certainty before you act. You need a move that creates momentum.

Steps
3
Time
30 min
Outcome
A move

Most people try to solve the whole future before making a move. They think harder, analyse longer, and look for the option that removes the risk.

Important decisions rarely work like that. In the cockpit we almost never had perfect information. We learned to move before we felt ready. That is what this workbook is for.

Your answers stay on your device. Nothing is submitted, uploaded, or stored by us.
SETUP

The decision you have been sitting on.


Write it here in one sentence. Specific is better than tidy.

01 / 03  ·  ZOOM OUT

What does good look like?


Difficult decisions become easier when you are clear on the future you are trying to create.

In the military this is called commander's intent: a clear picture of the desired end state, without needing every step mapped out in advance. The future is uncertain. Plans change. New information appears. But if you are clear on what matters most, you can adapt while still moving in the right direction.

The first principle of war is "Selection and Maintenance of the Aim". British Defence Doctrine
Watch for vague answers

"I want to be happier" is too vague. Good answers describe the conditions you are trying to create. You are choosing a direction, not a fixed future.

01 / 03  ·  ZOOM OUT
Step 1. Zoom Out
What does good look like?

A good outcome over the next few years. Specific.

What you want more of. What you'll no longer tolerate. What needs to stay true.

Does it look different now?

02 / 03  ·  NEXT EVENT

What's my next move toward it?


Most people try to solve the whole future before making a move. That usually creates paralysis.

In the cockpit we focused on the next event: the next navigation point, the next fuel check, the next action that moved the mission forward. Fly to that point, assess, adjust, move again. You do not need the full plan right now. You need the next move that creates momentum and better information.

Put down the map, look out the window, and fly the airplane. Fighter Pilot Wisdom
Watch for this

Your next move should create options, not reduce them. Choose moves that reveal reality, increase leverage, and keep you adaptable.

02 / 03  ·  NEXT EVENT
Step 2. Next Event
What's my next move toward it?

List 3 to 4 realistic actions. Even the ones that feel wrong.

The one that moves you forward, teaches you something, and keeps your options open.

What you'll do. Who you need to speak to. When.

03 / 03  ·  COMMIT

Can I live with the downside?


Most people stay stuck because they are trying to remove risk before they act. Things go wrong. Sometimes the world actively works against you.

In the cockpit we understood this from the start. We could not control everything that would happen. What we could control was whether we put ourselves in a position we could survive if things went wrong. That is the idea behind tolerable worst case. Once the downside becomes survivable, hesitation loses its grip.

Better to make these decisions at 1g, with a cup of coffee and the air conditioning on, than at 600 knots with your hair on fire as you enter the merge. Fighter Pilot Wisdom
03 / 03  ·  COMMIT
Step 3. Commit
Can I live with the downside?

The realistic version. Not the catastrophe fantasy.

What would recovery realistically look like?

At what point would you stop, reassess, or change direction? Decide this now, while you are calm.

SUMMARY

You came in stuck. You leave with an action.


Three lines. That is the whole point. You do not need to keep rethinking this decision. You need to do the thing you wrote down.

The future I am trying to create
The move I will make now
The downside I can live with
Export or print your answers if you want to keep a copy.

Hit a wall?

Some situations are too complex for a workbook alone. Organisational politics. Competing pressures. Problems that feel tangled because they are.

Get Clear is a 90-minute session focused entirely on your situation. What is actually happening, what matters most, and how to move.

If that's where you are, reach out. paul@wingmanexecutive.com

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