From 3 Months to 30 Days

Time to read: 8 minutes
Time to apply: Immediately

You've been debating the same priority decision for 3 months. More meetings. More analysis. More opinions. But no decision.

We've seen this pattern across many mid-market tech companies. The average priority decision takes 3-6 months internally. But with the right approach, you can make the same decision in 30 days (or less).

What You'll Learn

• The 5 reasons decisions stall internally
• How to create a 30-day decision sprint
• When to bring in external support
• Cost of delay calculator

The 3-Month Problem

Imagine spending 4 months debating whether to rebuild your platform or keep patching it. The debate involves 12 people across engineering, product, and finance. Weekly meetings. Endless spreadsheets. No decision.

On average, the calculated cost is a sobering: £120k in team time. Just for the debate.

This isn't unusual. Priority decisions drag on because of five predictable reasons.

The 5 Reasons Decisions Stall

You've probably experienced this: A priority decision that should take 2 weeks drags on for 3 months. Here's why:

1. No Clear Framework

Without a scoring model, every discussion becomes "my opinion vs yours." Engineering wants to rebuild. Product wants features. Finance wants cost control. No one has a shared way to evaluate trade-offs.

2. Politics Trump Data

The loudest voice wins, not the best evidence. A VP pushing their pet project gets more airtime than a junior analyst with better data. Decisions become about power, not priorities.

3. Analysis Paralysis

"Let's run one more analysis." "What if we modeled a different scenario?" The search for perfect information delays the decision. But perfect information never arrives.

4. Stakeholder Alignment

You need buy-in from 8 people. But getting them all in the same room is impossible. So you have 8 separate conversations, each leading to more questions and less clarity.

5. Fear of Being Wrong

No one wants to champion a decision that fails. So everyone waits for someone else to take responsibility. The decision stalls indefinitely.

The 30-Day Decision Sprint

The solution isn't working harder. It's working to a clear timeline with defined steps. Here's how to make a priority decision in 30 days:

Week 1: Frame the Decision

• Day 1-2: Define the decision clearly. What exactly are you choosing between?
• Day 3-4: Identify stakeholders and decision criteria. What matters most?
• Day 5: Agree on the framework. Use a simple 4-factor model (Outcome, Risk, Speed, Cost).

Week 2: Research and Data

• Day 6-8: Gather existing data. Use what you already have.
• Day 9-10: Fill critical gaps only. Don't chase perfect information.
• Day 11-12: Score each option using your framework.

Week 3: Evaluate Options

• Day 13-15: Compare scores across options. Make trade-offs visible.
• Day 16-17: Stress-test top 2 options. What could go wrong?
• Day 18-19: Draft recommendation with clear rationale.

Week 4: Align and Decide

• Day 20-22: Stakeholder review. Get feedback on recommendation.
• Day 23-25: Revise based on feedback. Address key concerns.
• Day 26-30: Present to decision-maker. Make the call.

The key is defining clear deliverables for each week and sticking to the timeline. Most delays happen when weeks blur together.

When to Bring in External Support

Sometimes internal approaches won't work, no matter how disciplined your process. Here's when external support makes sense:

1. Too Political

Internal stakeholders have entrenched positions. An external voice can break the deadlock by bringing an objective perspective.

2. Too Time-Sensitive

You need a decision before the board meeting in 4 weeks. Your team is already at capacity. External help gives you dedicated bandwidth.

3. Lack Expertise

You're evaluating AI investments but have no ML expertise internally. External specialists bring domain knowledge you can't build overnight.

The ROI is simple: If delay costs more than external support, bring in help.

Cost of Delay Calculator

Use this simple formula to calculate what delay costs:

Total cost of delay: Team time + Opportunity cost = £_______

Example: £120k in Debate

Context: A SaaS company with £15M ARR debating platform rebuild vs incremental refactor.

The Debate: 12 people (3 VPs, 6 senior engineers, 3 finance), 2 hours/week, 16 weeks.

The Cost: 12 × 2 × £125/hour × 16 = £48k in meetings alone. Add preparation time (1 hour/week per person) = another £24k. Add missed revenue from delayed decision (1 quarter) = £48k. Total: £120k.

Summary

Priority decisions take 3-6 months internally because of:

• No clear framework for evaluation
• Politics overriding data
• Analysis paralysis
• Stakeholder misalignment
• Fear of being wrong

You can cut this to 30 days (or less), with a structured sprint: Frame (Week 1), Research (Week 2), Evaluate (Week 3), Decide (Week 4).

When internal approaches won't work (politics, time pressure, lack expertise), external support often pays for itself in saved delay costs.

Ready to Apply This?

Start by calculating your current cost of delay. If it's over £50k, you have a clear ROI case for speeding up the decision.

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Need Help Applying This to Your Situation?

We use these frameworks with our clients every month to make priority decisions in 30 days (or less).