Decisioin Making - The Basics

Effective Decision Making

Tim Connor, CSP

Why People don’t or can’t make decisions.

Here are just a few of the major reasons why people don’t make decisions.  There are others but most will fall into these 13.

1 - Fear of reprisal

2 - Procrastination – fear of the unknown

3 - Over concern with consequences

4 - Lack of knowledge

5 - Lack of a safe corporate culture

6 - Lack of experience

7 - They don’t have a decision strategy or process

8 - What’s the point, it will be overturned by someone

9 - People don’t feel empowered

10 - Don’t know their decision parameters or limitations

11 - Lack self-confidence

12 - Low self-esteem

13 - They don’t think or believe they have any authority

Here are the critical keys to effective decision making.

1 - Get as much information as you can that is relevant

2 - Don’t just look for information from people who will agree with you

3 - Define the problem, need, circumstance or situation briefly in writing

4 - Consider any benchmarks from previous similar decisions

5 - Trust yourself

6 - Listen to your intuitive inner messages

7 - Recognize that there are always alternatives

8 - Look for the key critical factors impacting the decision

9 - Don’t try and make right decisions.  Some right decisions turn out badly in the long

     run and some bad decisions can turn out well.

10 - Know your resources of time, money and energy

11 - Be realistic when it comes to projecting outcomes and time frames

12 - Recognize that there will always be obstacles, anticipate them and plan for them

13 - Keep a decision journal

14 – Remember, a decision to do nothing is a decision.

An effective decision process.

1 - Define the problem in writing.

2 - Get as much information as you can.

3 - Don’t go into information overload.

4 - You will never have all of the information you need or want.

5 - Get your information from several sources and not just people who will agree with

     you or validate you.

6 - Consider all of your possible alternatives whether you like them or are comfortable

   with them or not.

7 - Evaluate all of the possible outcomes for each alternative.  Think the decision

     through.  Who will it impact? Now? Later? What could that impact be? What are the

     possible  consequences for doing nothing?

8 - Consider all of the potential and known and potentially unknown challenges,

     problems or threats.  This takes experience and judgment.

9 - Make the decision.

10 - Communicate the decision to everyone who will either be impacted by it or who

       needs to be involved in supporting or integrating it.

11 - Evaluate the consequences of the decision as they unfold.

12 - Be willing to change the decision as soon as you feel or believe that it is not

       working.  One of the biggest mistakes people make when making decisions is to stick

       with a bad decision long after they feel that they should stop the continued ripple

       effect of it.

13 - Re-evaluate by going back to step one if the decision is not working and repeat the

       next 12 steps again.