How do you make decisions? Do you naturally think of all the things that could go wrong? Or do you get stuck in data collection mode, not feeling like you have all the information you need to make a decision?
It’s essential to have a repeatable process for achieving important outcomes. Developing a process for making good decisions is time well spent. By becoming familiar with a few approaches, you and your team can focus on making great decisions confidently, and more quickly.
What’s your process? Are you happy with the results of your decisions? Or do you find you have tendencies- optimism, pessimism, endless data collection- that impair your outcomes?
If you’d like to improve your thinking process beyond a list of pros and cons, here are some tools I’ve used.
Six Thinking Hats Six Thinking Hats – De Bono Group
A SWOT analysis SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (mindtools.com)
A Pareto analysis Pareto chart – Wikipedia
No matter what you chose, thinking about a decision from multiple points of view, separating the trivial from the essential, and being aware of blind spots will give you more confidence and clarity.
Using one’s creative imagination in concert with various points of view is critical to making decisions! Don’t be afraid to let your thoughts wonder in ways that you may feel are questionable. Try not to build “fences” around your imagination skills!