Discipline 01
See Clearly
What is true now? Build a current picture of the situation. Separate what you know from what you assume, hope or have not checked.
Every option costs something.
The consequences matter, the information you want is not available and you have already gone over the problem more times than you can count. The answer is still no clearer.
Difficult decisions are rarely difficult because you have failed to think. They are difficult because the options carry different risks, the missing information may not arrive and waiting changes the situation.
At Mach 1, fighter pilots face that problem in its most unforgiving form. They cannot pause the situation while they search for certainty. They use a disciplined method to establish what is happening, decide what matters, choose the next move and understand the risk before they act.
Become Decisive teaches you to use those same disciplines on a decision of your own. The aim is to make a better decision with the information available, act on it and know when the situation calls for a change.
FormatVideos, readings, checkpoints and workbooks
LengthRoughly four hours, self-paced
Course9 modules and 34 lessons
You finish withA difficult decision made and a method you can use again
The method
Four disciplines that improve the decision.
Each discipline answers a question that difficult decisions leave unresolved. Together they improve the picture you decide from and the quality of the choice you make. An answer reached later may send you back to reconsider an earlier one.
Discipline 02
Zoom Out
What are you trying to achieve? Define the outcome before comparing options, so you do not solve the immediate problem at the expense of the real aim.
Discipline 03
Next Event
How far ahead can you usefully decide? Choose the next move, not a detailed future the facts cannot support.
Discipline 04
Commit
Can you carry the downside? Examine the risk the decision creates, decide what would be unacceptable and act with a way out where one is needed.
How the course works
Learn it on a supplied decision. Use it on your own.
The course moves from explanation to practice and then to your own decision. A supplied scenario lets you learn without personal stakes. The final module uses the complete Decision Canvas on a decision that matters to you.
Understand the disciplines
Paul explains why each one mattered in the cockpit and shows how it improves decisions at work and in life.
Practise the full method
You complete the Decision Canvas on a supplied scenario while nothing personal is at stake. This lets you concentrate on the quality of the thinking.
Debrief the judgement
Compare your work with Paul's answer and examine how each decision was reached, rather than judging it only by what happened afterwards.
Make your decision
Bring the decision you have been carrying. Work through it privately, make the best call available from what you know now and state what you will do next.
Make a better decision now. Know how to make the next one.
The course is designed to help you resolve the decision in front of you. What you keep is a repeatable method for deciding clearly when information is incomplete, time matters and no option is free of risk.
Your instructor
Paul Littlejohn
Paul spent sixteen years as an RAF fighter pilot and qualified to fly the F/A-18 from aircraft carriers.
He later used the same decision disciplines while running a $250M, 10,000-person operation at dnata and as COO of a global travel company operating across 17 destinations.
The course uses that experience to teach the method Paul relied on when the information was incomplete and the decision could not wait.
16 yearsRAF fighter pilot
F/A-18Carrier-qualified
$250MOperation at dnata
10,000People led
Inside the course
The complete course
Open any module to see what you will learn and what it contains. The complete course has 34 lessons and 69 minutes of video.
01Start Here
Certainty rarely arrives before you have to act. This module introduces the four disciplines and shows how they work together.
What you'll learn
- Why waiting for certainty does not remove the need to decide.
- How the four disciplines take you from an incomplete picture to a deliberate next move.
What's included
- 1 video
- 1 reading
02Seeing Clearly
You decide from your picture of reality, not reality itself. This module teaches you to separate what is known from what is assumed, judge where information came from and notice when the picture has gone stale.
What you'll learn
- Tell confirmed fact from comfortable assumption before acting on either.
- Judge how much weight to give a piece of information and its source.
- Notice when what you believe is no longer current.
What's included
- 2 videos
- 3 readings
- 2 checkpoints
03Zoom Out
Pressure narrows your attention and can leave you solving the wrong problem. This module helps you define what you are trying to achieve before you begin comparing ways to get there.
What you'll learn
- Recognise when the immediate problem has taken over your view.
- Turn a broad intention into a useful end state.
- Keep the aim steady when circumstances become harder.
What's included
- 2 videos
- 3 readings
- 1 checkpoint
04Next Event
Planning beyond what you can see creates false precision. This module shows you how to decide as far as the next point where the situation will give you new information.
What you'll learn
- Work out how far ahead you can make a useful decision.
- Put a genuine alternative beside the obvious option.
- Choose a move that preserves room to adapt.
What's included
- 2 videos
- 3 readings
- 1 checkpoint
05Commit
A difficult decision usually carries a downside that has not been examined clearly. This module helps you identify the risk created by the decision, judge whether you can carry it and decide what would make you turn back.
What you'll learn
- Separate the real downside from consequences the decision does not create.
- Distinguish what would be unpleasant from what would be unacceptable.
- Set a point at which you would stop, change course or leave.
What's included
- 3 videos
- 3 readings
- 1 checkpoint
06The Decision Canvas
Use all four disciplines on one supplied decision. The Canvas keeps the complete process on a single page and makes the links between the disciplines visible.
What you'll learn
- Run the method from the first assessment to the decision to act.
- Recognise when a later answer means you need to revisit an earlier one.
What's included
- The Decision Canvas workbook
- A supplied practice decision
07The Debrief
A decision should be judged by the reasoning available at the time, not only by what happened afterwards. You compare your Canvas with Paul's worked answer and examine where the thinking differed.
What you'll learn
- Separate the quality of a decision from luck in the outcome.
- Identify a difference in judgement and distinguish it from a flaw in the process.
What's included
- 1 video
- Paul's worked answer
- The Debrief workbook
08Submit Your Workbook
Submit the practice workbook before you see the worked answer. This preserves what you actually thought and gives you an honest basis for the debrief.
What you'll learn
- Commit your reasoning before comparing it with someone else's.
- Create a record you can examine without hindsight changing it.
What's included
- Workbook submission
09Your Decision
Take a difficult decision you are carrying through the same process. The work is private. The aim is to make the best decision available from what you know now, then state what happens next.
What you'll learn
- Use the complete method when the decision and the downside are genuinely yours.
- Make a deliberate decision and state what you will do next.
What's included
- 1 video
- A Decision Canvas for your decision
- Course completion
From participants
What participants said
“By the end, I could clearly explain the whole thing to someone else.”Beta tester
“‘Can I live with the worst?’ makes me wait thirty seconds to see if I really want to commit.”Vladislav R. · Head of Sales & Business Development
“It forces me to move without pretending I can predict the future.”Patrick M. · Consultant
Questions
Before you begin
Do I need a military background?
No. The method comes from fighter aviation, but the course is taught in plain language for decisions at work and in life.
Do I need a decision in mind before I start?
No. You learn the method first and practise it on a supplied decision. You bring your own decision into the final module.
Will this help me make better decisions?
Yes. The four disciplines make you test your assumptions, define what matters, decide only as far ahead as the facts allow and examine the risk before you act. No method can control what happens next, but this one improves the decision you make with the information available and helps you adapt as reality changes.
How is the course taught?
Through short videos, readings, checkpoints and workbooks. You learn each discipline, use the complete method on a supplied decision and then apply it to your own.
How long does it take?
Roughly four hours, completed at your own pace. The course includes 69 minutes of video and permanent access.
What will I have at the end?
A completed Decision Canvas, a certificate of completion and a difficult decision worked through using all four disciplines.
Become Decisive
Make the better call on the decision in front of you.
$295One payment
- 9 modules and 34 lessons
- Decision Canvas and Paul's worked answer
- Permanent access, including future updates
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Self-paced. Begin whenever you are ready. Founder access holders can apply their coupon at checkout.