3) Speed Up By Slowing Down
We tweet, we text, we answer emails until our thumbs seize. We digest more information in a week than people used to absorb in a year. We jump on and off planes and Skype and go to end- less meetings. And every quarter, we are judged on our per- formance. So we must be making decisions quickly too, right? Wrong. A frenzy of activity will often make us less able to make a decision. Decisions require some focused thinking and dis- cussion, so spending a few hours engaged in a decision mak- ing process can be one of the most effective uses of your time.
4) Accept Risk
The reality is, making decisions involves taking risks and we are so averse to loss that the potential to make a mistake can cause us to freeze. But doing nothing is almost always worse than doing something: as T.S. Eliot wisely noted, the world ends not with a bang but a whimper. A company that wants to move forward knows that mistakes will be made and will make its people feel secure in spite of that. They put safeguards in place to predict and mitigate risk, but are aware that occasion- ally mistakes happen and the wrong decisions will be made.
5) Don’t Let Data Overload You
Columbia University's Sheena Iyengar ran the famous "jam test," which showed that when we are faced with too many varieties of jam to purchase, we are overwhelmed and choose to buy none. An abundance of choice leads to decision paraly- sis. We now have more data available on our phones than was once stored in the best graduate school libraries. We think that the answer lies "out there" and with a bit more time we will stumble across the one piece of data that will help us make the perfect decision. We will never have every piece of infor- mation, so it is essential that we learn to recognize when we have enough data to make a decision and move forward.
6) Clarify Your Values
When you go to a fast food restaurant do you get flummoxed when they ask you if you want to upsize your meal? Of course not. You have your own pre-established heuristic when it comes to fast food. Fast Food = Fat = "No thanks." Or Upsize = Good Value = "Yes please!" Yes or no is easy. When your values are clear, decision making becomes easier. It’s important that companies have clearly defined values statements so that employees have a framework on which to base decisions.
7) Clarify Your Corporate Strategy
It’s easier to make a decision when you have a clearly articu- lated strategy and goals. The best decision is simply the one that drives you toward your goals. The clearer and simpler the strategy, whether it is personal or corporate, the easier it is to make a choice. Clear strategy drives clear decisions.
8) Practice Makes Perfect
It is important to practice making decisions as often as possi- ble. Many decisions require wading through information, doing a detailed analysis, and engaging stakeholders, while other decisions do not. Practice making decisions so the process becomes second nature. You’ll come to learn what decisions you can make quickly and what decisions take more time to research.
If you routinely let everyone else choose the restaurant, vaca- tion destination, or paint color, start making decisions. Decision making is a skill that can be crafted with time and practice.
If you follow a decision making process and keep the above points in mind, you will have everything you need to make great decisions that other people will embrace.
Jen Lawrence holds an MBA in Finance and has widely written and spoken on corporate culture, critical thinking, and strategic planning. Lawrence has been interviewed by a number of media outlets including: The Toronto Star, Report on Business TV, National Post, and Toronto Life.
engagethefox.wordpress.com /
jenlawrencedesign.blogspot.ca
Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 89
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92