Frank Elsner is encouraging individuals to adopt a clear personal standard designed to improve decision-making, reduce avoidable mistakes, and strengthen outcomes in everyday life. The standard is simple: Pause, Check, Decide.

Built from decades of experience in high-pressure environments and organisational leadership, the approach focuses on slowing decisions just enough to spot risk, confirm assumptions, and act with intent.

“Most problems don’t come from bad intent,” Elsner said. “They come from small shortcuts that quietly become normal.”

The proposed standard is not about perfection. It is about consistency. It can be applied to work decisions, safety choices, learning habits, and career moves.

Why Ignoring the Basics Causes Real Harm

When people rush decisions or rely on habit alone, the impact adds up. Research across multiple fields shows the cost of skipping basic checks:

• Up to 80% of workplace incidents are linked to human behaviour, not equipment failure, according to the International Labour Organization.

• One in three professionals report making avoidable errors due to stress or distraction, based on global workforce surveys.

• Near-miss reporting reduces serious incidents by as much as 50%, yet many people never pause to reflect on close calls, according to the National Safety Council.

• Studies on decision fatigue show that poor choices increase by over 35% when people act under time pressure without structured pauses.

“These are not complex failures,” Elsner said. “They are everyday decisions made too fast.”

The Personal Standard: Pause, Check, Decide

The standard is built around three steps that take less than one minute.

Pause Stop before acting. Create space. Even five seconds matters.

Check Ask simple questions. What has changed? What could go wrong? Am I assuming something without proof?

Decide Make the choice with intent. Own it. Move forward without second-guessing.

“Patience will take you further than adrenaline,” Elsner said. “Most damage happens when speed replaces thinking.”

This standard works because it aligns with how people actually behave. It does not require new tools or training. It fits into daily life.

Where the Standard Applies

The same pattern shows up across many areas:

• Trust: Pausing before reacting prevents words that cannot be taken back.

• Safety: Checking assumptions catches small risks before they grow.

• Learning: Deciding with intent improves focus and retention.

• Career decisions: Slowing down reduces regret and impulse moves.

“Safety is what people do when there’s no audience,” Elsner said. “The same is true for judgment.”

A 30-Day Implementation Plan

This standard works best when practised daily. Below is a simple 30-day plan with weekly milestones.

Week 1: Awareness

• Use the Pause step at least once per day.

• Notice where you rush decisions.

• Do not try to fix everything yet.

Milestone: Recognise your most common shortcuts.

Week 2: Simple Checks

• Add one Check question before important decisions.

• Write the question down if needed.

• Focus on work and personal routines.

Milestone: Catch at least one avoidable mistake early.

Week 3: Intentional Decisions

• Combine Pause and Check before deciding.

• Say the decision out loud or write it down.

• Review one outcome each day.

Milestone: Improve clarity and confidence in decisions.

Week 4: Habit Building

• Use all three steps automatically.

• Apply them under mild stress or time pressure.

• Share the standard with one other person.

Milestone: Turn the process into a habit.

“Debriefs turn experience into improvement,” Elsner said. “Without reflection, people repeat the same mistakes.”

Frank Elsner encourages individuals to adopt the Pause, Check, Decide standard for the next 30 days and track the results.

“Most big improvements come from small habits,” he said. “If you practise them long enough, they shape who you become.”

Readers are encouraged to print the checklist, share it with colleagues or family members, and apply the standard to one decision per day. Consistency matters more than intensity.

About Frank Elsner

Frank Elsner is a safety and leadership executive based in Vancouver, Canada, with decades of experience in organisational safety, decision-making, and high-pressure environments.

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