Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You decide to sit tight and wait until the union agrees to flip the breakers.
You don't want to alienate the union and jeopardize your chances of working in the hotel again. You hope the hotel's general manager will handle the task of getting the lights turned back on.
In the meantime, you announce to the guests that the lights will be turned back on as soon as possible.
Your client is furious. After all, the room contains 1,500 of the area's most influential citizens, yet they're sitting in the dark, waiting for the lights to come on so the festivities can begin.
The guests begin to feel uneasy; some make their way through the doors to leave.
Wouldn't it have been better to stand your ground and fight for your client? After all, he's paying the hotel an extravagant amount of money for services he's not getting.
The event will be the talk of the town all right, but not in the way you wanted. In fact, you'll be lucky if you even get paid for your work.
"You can't not do the right thing -- ever," says Martin Metcalfe, an event planner. "You can't say you wish you'd done it differently. You just do it and pick up the pieces. If it means never working in that hotel again, fine. You can't get nervous about that kind of thing, because the job you're working on is right now -- today. Don't be concerned about the potential for future jobs. Worry about today."
Metcalfe says people tend to get "stalemated" and can't make a decision because they're afraid of making the wrong one. "The biggest problem with not making a decision is just that, not making one. You can always change your decision, but if you're not making one, you're in big trouble."