Decision-making can be hard sometimes. Despite adequate planning, many organizations make the process even harder. Ht Having a system of evaluation in place beforehand is helpful. Here are three tried and true methods, proven to help you make your next obstacle an easier one to overcome.
Decision-making tip #1: Avoid Heuristic Traps (FACETS)
A heuristic trap is an irrelevant factor that influences your ability to make effective decisions. They are common problems that people run into when trying to establish whether or not they should do something.
- Familiarity: This is when your past experiences or actions make you blind to the circumstances. You are so familiar with the past you overlook current factors. Perhaps there is a better decision. You would discover it if you were paying closer attention.
- Acceptance: You want to impress or gain the approval of a group. Therefore, you make a decision based on what others will think of you. This means you do not make a decision based on what is best for the organization.
- Consistency: When you’ve already started a project – or – put so much of yourself into it, you keep going. You lose sight of whether or not it’s actually a good decision to proceed.
- Expert Halo: You blindly trust someone, to a harmful extent, because they are “the expert” on the subject. For example, maybe someone is a great salesman, however, it does not make them an expert in computer programming. Be sure not to transfer trust in someone because of their expertise in one area to another field that they do not have experience in.
- Social Facilitation: You know another business owner has done it before, so why shouldn’t you? However, it does not necessarily mean you have the same resources and skill set to cope with the risks involved. It is important to do things that are feasible in your situation.
Decision-making tip #2: Pro-Con Lists
Like Derek in the upcoming book, Becoming TIGERS – Leading Your Team to Success (take a look inside!) making a pro-con list can be very beneficial when trying to make a decision. Before you decide to make any dramatic changes within your company, sit down, get out a piece of paper, and make a chart. List all the positive outcomes you can expect if you go through with it, then also seriously consider all the negative impacts it might have. Feel free to ask other people for their honest opinion. If there are more positives than negatives and you feel peaceful, then proceed with confidence.
Decision-making tip #3: Clear Goals and Applications
Similar to falling into a heuristic trap, be sure that you have a clear goal and that you are not making a decision based on pressure or other people’s uneducated opinions. Recognizing the problems that you want to solve and knowing exactly how you will proceed in order to solve them will make the decision that much easier.
When your next obstacle or decision occurs, keep these three techniques in mind.
For more reading on decision making check out the links below.
- 10 Management Traps and How to Avoid Them
- Three Steps To Fostering Good Decision Making In Your Organization
- How a Pro and Con List Will Boost Your Business
- 4 Reasons You Need to Set Business Goals
Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton
About TIGERS Success Series, Inc.
About TIGERS Success Series, Inc.Why guess what is needed for workforce development when it is completely unnecessary? Our mission is to improve the world of work for millions of employees while their organizations thrive. We accomplish this with a researched and validated comprehensive, robust system for improving both your work environment and profitability.
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