What are important decision making skills for business executives?

Executives will need to make decisions. This is a fact and
sometimes a burden of being an executive. For there to be good decisions, certain basic
elements should always be present. The most important skill is knowledge - knowledge of
past, present and hopefully projected future.

First,
executives must know their goal. In other words, they must know for certain what they
want to accomplish. Without the mission statement or objective in mind, poor decision
may be made.

Second, executives will need to assess risk.
This is an important question to ask, because even if a decision is step in the right
direction, it might be too risky at any given time. Hence, executives need to have as
much information as possible to make good
decisions.

Finally, executives need to assess their own
resources. Can they handle internally the direction of the decision. For example, can
they afford a certain action or withstand potential risks?