How to make better decisions?
In Decision-Making Villains,we have seen the difficulties to make wise decisions.
A decision is not just about the outcome, it’s about the process. A decision is a means to an end.
The good decisions often have “Procedural Justice”:
- Give people a chance to challenge information
- Use accurate information to decide
- Explain why the decision is made
- Listen to what people say
- Avoid bias and self-interest – Be candid about relevant risks and concerns
Tools for better decisions:
- 10/10/10 for emotional sorting:
- How will we feel for 10 minutes? 10 months ? 10 years? from now
- Distance gives clarity
- Give advice to others
- Prioritize the most important factors in the decision
- “What would I tell my best friend to do in this situation?”
- Downplay short-term emotion – The goal is not to eliminate emotion in decisions, but to honor emotions that count.
- Bookending:
- Estimate two different scenarios: Dire and rosy
- Look for businesses with a wide range of potential
- Prospective Hindsight:
- Work backward from a certain future
- Gives better explanations why event might happen
- Premortem:
- Imagine the future “Death” of a project, and ask “What has killed it”?
- Testing decisions
- PreParade:
- Consider unexpected success
- “How do you ensure you are ready for success?”
- Tripwire:
- Signals that would snap you awake at the exact right moment, compelling you to reconsider or make a new decision
- Set a deadline
- Jolt you from unconscious routine and make you aware you have a choice
- Bargaining
- Art of compromise
- When multiple parties disagree, they horse-trade until they find a solution most people can live with
Lastly, Humility in predicting the future is critical for good decisions.
From Decisive