Decision debt, explained in one table

Decision debt is the cost of choices made badly, late or twice. Like any debt it compounds quietly and gets paid at the worst moment.

The first kind is deciding twice: agreed in the meeting, reopened in the corridor. The second is the wrong person deciding: the founder approving what a team lead should own. The third is deciding too late: the choice was obvious in March and made in June. The fourth is never writing it down, so everyone remembers a different version.

Most companies have all four. Start with the one that costs you the most hours, not the one that annoys you most.