Decision Making: Break the Hesitation Cycle Holding You Back | K4B

Host: Bernie Franzgrote

Executive advisor Mary Clavieres breaks down human design decision making styles for leaders on Knack 4 Business S4 E100. Find your style. Lead with clarity.

GROWTH CATEGORY: Leadership & Ops

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You've been second-guessing a decision that should be obvious by now. And the longer you sit on it, the heavier it gets.

Mary Clavieres has seen this pattern in Fortune 100 boardrooms, in small business owners navigating their first pivot, and in leaders who are performing well on paper but feel stuck underneath. She's an executive advisor, author, and human design expert based in France — and she joined Bernie Franzgrote on Knack 4 Business S4 E100 to break down why smart people stay stuck, and what it actually takes to move with clarity.

Watch the full conversation here:

Who This Is For

SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems

Key Lessons

1. Your decision making style is already built in — you just haven't been taught to use it.

Human design is a framework that uses your birth time, date, and location to map how you're naturally wired to make decisions. There are seven styles, called authorities. Each one describes when and how your body is ready to decide. Mary's own style led her away from a high-stress corporate career and toward the work she does now. Her daughter's style explained why she responded with sounds before words — not stubbornness, but biology.

2. Big decisions made when emotions are high almost always backfire.

Mary draws a clear line between haircut-level decisions — reversible, low stakes — and tattoo-level decisions that stay with you. The mistake most leaders make isn't picking the wrong option. It's deciding at the wrong moment. When stress, excitement, or frustration is running hot, the body isn't in the right state to access its own clarity. Timing isn't a soft skill. It's a leadership discipline.

3. Self-leadership ripples outward in ways you can't always see.

When Mary learned that her husband isn't wired to decide in the moment, she stopped pushing him for immediate answers. When she identified her daughter's sacral response — the uh-huhs and uh-uhs that come before words — she stopped telling her to "use her words." The ripple effect of understanding your own style extends to every relationship you're in. At home. On your team. In your culture.

Practical Steps

• Get your free human design chart. Go to maryclavieres.com and pull your chart using your birth time, date, and location. Find your authority — that's your decision making style. Read about it before you do anything else.
• Identify one decision you've been sitting on. Run it through the lens of your style. Are you making it at the wrong moment? Is it a tattoo-level call being treated like a haircut? Is your body telling you something your brain is overriding?
• Bring it to a room. The ETW format — one challenge, one introduction — exists exactly for this. East Trade Winds runs free every Tuesday 8–9 AM EST. Bring the decision. Let the room help.

About the Guest

Mary Clavieres is an executive advisor, author, and human design expert who helps business owners and leaders navigate change with clarity and self-trust. With over 15 years inside Fortune 100 companies and nearly a decade as an entrepreneur, she brings a grounded strategic lens to leadership — one that blends systems thinking with mind-body awareness. She's the author of Mind-Body Connection Unlocked and the host of the podcast Find Yourself, Change Your Life. Based in France, she works primarily with leaders in North America and Europe. Connect with her at maryclavieres.com or on LinkedIn.

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Partners on this episode

East Trade Winds — Free weekly networking every Tuesday 8–9 AM EST. Bring one challenge, one introduction. Community first, sales second.

Gentry Learning — Real estate education that builds real wealth, with Fred Crouch. Courses, listings, investor club, and a free newsletter.

WebIndexer — Turn your website into a 24/7 sales assistant. See it live on knack4business.com.

FAQ

What is human design and how does it apply to business decisions?
Human design is a system that uses your birth data to map how you're naturally wired to process information and make choices. In a business context, it helps leaders stop defaulting to generic decision making methods and start working with their own built-in style — which reduces second-guessing and speeds up clarity.

How many decision making styles are there in human design?
There are seven, called authorities. Each one describes the internal process your body and mind use to arrive at a trustworthy decision. Some styles are built for in-the-moment responses. Others need time, space, or emotional neutrality before a decision feels right.

Can this work for executives who come from logic-driven backgrounds?
Yes — and that's exactly who Mary works with most. Her own background is engineering and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The framework doesn't replace logic. It adds a layer underneath it that makes the logic more reliable, especially under pressure.

K4B Acknowledgements

Carl Richards | Fred Crouch | Jovan Strika — @Hive | Melanie Webber