Decision-making is a process of first diverging to explore the possibilities and then converging on a solution(s).The Latin root of the word decision means "to cut off from all alternatives". This is what you should do when you decide. Problem solving and decision-making are important skills for business and life. Problem solving often involves decision-making, and decision-making is especially important for management and leadership. There are processes and techniques to improve decision-making and the quality of decisions.
Decision-making is more natural to certain personalities, so these people should focus more on improving the quality of their decisions. People that are less natural decision-makers are often able to make quality assessments, but then need to be more decisive in acting upon the assessments made. Problem-solving and decision-making are closely linked, and each requires creativity in identifying and developing options, for which the brainstorming technique is particularly useful. See also the free SWOT analysis template and examples, and PEST analysis template, which help decision-making and problem-solving. SWOT analysis helps assess the strength of a company, a business proposition or idea; PEST analysis helps to assess the potential and suitability of a market. Good decision-making requires a mixture of skills: creative development and identification of options, clarity of judgment, firmness of decision, and effective implementation. For group problem-solving and decision-making, or when a consensus is required, workshops help, within which you can incorporate these tools and process as appropriate. Here are some useful methods for effective decision-making and problem-solving: First a simple step-by-step process for effective decision-making and problem-solving.
There are several steps that can be taken to make the right decision.
STEP 1: Identify the decision to be made. You realize that a decision must be made. Your
awareness may be triggered by a variety of things: the need to declare a major,
pressure from friends and family to make a vocational choice, or a general sense
of dissatisfaction or unease. You then go through an internal process of trying to
define clearly the nature of the decision you must make.
STEP 2: Gather relevant information. Most decisions require collecting pertinent
information. The real trick in this step is to know what information is needed, the
best sources of information, and how to get it. Some information must be sought
from within yourself through a process of self-analysis; other information must be
sought from outside yourself-books, people, and other sources.
STEP 3: Identify alternatives. Through the process of collecting information you will
probably identify two or more possible paths of action. You may also use your
imagination and information to construct new alternatives.
STEP 4: Weigh evidence. Draw on your information and emotions to imagine what it
would be like if you carried out each of the alternatives to the end. You must
evaluate whether the problem or need identified in Step 1 would be helped or
solved through the use of each alternative. Eventually you are able to place the
available alternatives in priority order, based upon your own value system.
STEP 5: Choose among alternatives. Once you have weighed all the evidence, you are
ready to select the alternative which seems to be best suited to you. You may even
choose a combination of alternatives.
STEP 6: Take action. You now take some positive action which begins to implement the
alternative you choose in Step 5.
STEP 7: Review decision and consequences. In this step you experience the results of
your decision and evaluate whether or not it has “solved” or helped to solve the problem in Step 1.
If yes, you may stay with the decision. If no, you may repeat certain steps of the process in order to make a new decision.
Another simple process for decision-making is the pro's and con's list. Some decisions are a simple matter of whether to make a change or not, such as moving, taking a new job, or buying something, selling something, replacing something, etc.
Other decisions involve number of options, and are concerned more with how to do something, involving a number of choices. Use the brainstorming process to identify and develop options for decision-making and problem-solving.
1. First you will need a separate sheet for each identified option.
2. On each sheet write clearly the option concerned, and then beneath it the headings 'pro's' and 'con's' (or 'advantages' and disadvantages', or simply 'for' and 'against'). Many decisions simply involve the choice of whether to go ahead or not, to change or not; in these cases you need only one sheet.
3. Then write down as many effects and implications of the particular option that you (and others if appropriate) can think of, placing each in the relevant column.
4. If helpful 'weight' each factor, by giving it a score out of three or five points (e.g., 5 being extremely significant, and 1 being of minor significance).
5. When you have listed all the points you can think of for the option concerned compare the number or total score of the items/effects/factors between the two columns.
6. This will provide a reflection and indication as to the overall attractiveness and benefit of the option concerned. If you have scored each item you will actually be able to arrive at a total score, being the difference between the pro's and con's column totals. The bigger the difference between the total pro's and total con's then the more attractive the option is.
7. If you have a number of options and have complete a pro's and con's sheet for each option, compare the attractiveness - points difference between pro's and con's - for each option. The biggest positive difference between pro's and con's is the most attractive option.
8. N.B. If you don't like the answer that the decision-making sheet(s) reflect back to you, it means you haven't included all the con's - especially the emotional ones, or you haven't scored the factors consistently, so re-visit the sheet(s) concerned.
You will find that writing things down in this way will help you to see things more clearly, become more objective and detached, which will help you to make clearer decisions. On the basis of the pro's and con's, and the weighting applied, in the above example there's a clear overall quantifiable benefit attached to the decision to go ahead and buy a new car. Notice that it's even possible to include 'intangible' emotional issues in the pro's and con's comparison, for example 'it'll be a load off my mind', and 'decisions scare and upset me'.
A decision-making pro's and con's list like this helps remove the emotion which blocks clear thinking and decision-making - you can now see the wood for the trees again, and make a confident decision.
In his classic work, "Think & Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill stated that 98% of people are in the jobs they have through indecision, i.e. because they never made the decision about what they wanted to do in their lives in the first place. Indecision explains why many people feel that they have a life purpose, but have no idea what it is.
Decision is the key to transformation. It is one of the key character traits distinguishing high performers from the vast ranks of the mediocre. Decision is, by definition, behind every truly great achievement anyone ever makes. Interestingly, the most successful people make decisions quickly and change them slowly. They persist with the decisions they have made. However, failures are very slow to make any decision at all (most never make any), and they change the ones they have made very rapidly indeed.
A quick summary in how to make the right decisions going through its process is, first of all determination and positive attitude, decide, and then act as if you could not fail. Interestingly, this attitude of mind attracts to you forces from the universe that are
fully capable of supporting you and bringing your decision into manifestation. If you ask a lot from life, you will receive a lot. If you ask a little, that is what you will get. Interestingly, the universe has no favorites and does not care either way how much or how little you ask for. As and you shall receive, is the way it was once expressed. Second, recognize impact of your beliefs and values, beliefs are the assumptions we make about ourselves, about others in the world and about how we expect things to be. "These assumptions determine the way we behave and shape our decision-making process. They are often based on emotions rather than facts. We tend to notice 'facts' that reinforce our beliefs. Third, apply 80/20 principle, the 80/20 Principle tells you that you should choose an option that produces 80% of outputs from 20% of inputs, and gather 80% of the data and perform 80% of the relevant analyses in the first 20% of time available. Fourth, understand different styles of decision-making, there are many models for understanding and characterizing the styles of interaction different people prefer to employ. According to the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), people are divided into thinkers and feelers:
• A Thinker tends to use reason and logic
• A Feeler tends to use values and subjective judgment.
Fifth, use fuzzy logic in innovation projects, while the situations that fuzzy logic addresses are ambiguous, fuzzy logic itself is a very defined methodology. New business leaders use the managerial alent of fuzzy logic to address the ambiguity of the fuzzy front end.
Technology leaders have an analogous form of logic that they use to address the ambiguity of the fuzzy from end.
…….Finally,…..
Determine what can go wrong, this technique is called the “master method” of decision making. Ask yourself “What can go wrong in this situation? What is the worst possible outcome?” and decide whether or not you can live with those consequences.
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