Decision Cost Calculator
Calculate the True Cost of Slow Decisions at Your Company
5 minutes. See visible costs, hidden costs, and opportunity costs combined.
What This Calculator Reveals
Visible Costs
Meeting time, coordination overhead, and the direct hours spent creating alignment that should already exist.
Hidden Costs
Context switching, delayed decisions, rework from misalignment, and the productivity lost to waiting.
Opportunity Costs
Strategic initiatives not pursued, innovation delayed, and growth opportunities missed while leaders are stuck in alignment meetings.
How Decision Velocity Affects Your Bottom Line
When decisions take weeks instead of days, the costs compound across your organization:
For Each Senior Leader
- 8-12 hours weekly in alignment overhead
- $280K-$420K annually in lost productivity
- 20-30% of strategic capacity consumed by coordination
For the Organization
- 15-30% rework rates from priority misalignment
- 3-4x slower decision cycles than necessary
- Competitive opportunities lost to faster-moving rivals
Sample Calculation
Company Profile: 150 employees, 6 senior leaders, average decision time 14 days
Visible Costs:
- 6 leaders × 10 hours/week × $200/hour = $12,000/week
- Annual alignment overhead: $624,000
Hidden Costs:
- Rework from misalignment (20% of engineering time): $480,000/year
- Decision delay costs (projects waiting for approvals): $320,000/year
Total Annual Cost of Slow Decisions: $1,424,000
Reducing decision time from 14 days to 5 days typically recovers 40-60% of these costs.
Calculate Your Decision Costs
Input your team size and typical decision timeline to see your annual productivity impact.
Want a deeper analysis? Take the Executive Escalation Audit for a complete diagnostic.