Decision Making 101

Community Manager — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:57:00 GMT

It's been said that the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes. I'd amend that famous dictum to add....decisions. From sunrise to sunset, the day is jam-packed with decisions. And while many are relatively unimportant-coffee or tea?-other decisions are more weighted requiring careful attention for successful resolution.

Effective decision making requires having a clear picture of the issue at hand. An organized approach also helps. For tips on establishing a systematic method for decision making read this constructive article Decision Making Techniques and Decision Making Skills Training. In short, the article posits that adopting a logical and systematic decision-making process makes it less likely that important factors will be overlooked and that better and more effective decisions will readily be made.

Basics steps for making an effective decision include:

Create a constructive environment.
Generate good alternatives.
Explore these alternatives.
Choose the best alternative.
Check your decision.
Communicate your decision, and take action.

While these six steps can be viewed as decision making fundamentals, different situations can require additional steps. Decision Making 101 is a collection of articles on making decisions on everything from finances, your marriage to how to know when it's time to leave a job. In future posts, we'll examine specific types of decision making that occur frequently in the workplace.

For now, I'll leave you with some decision making advice from Suzy Welch, a business writer and wife of business tycoon Jack Welch. In her book 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea, Welch advocates defining options when making a decision by considering how the decision will affect you in 10 minutes, 10 months and then in 10 years. Welch's theory is that viewing decisions through this prism prevents one from making decisions based on short term expediency or solely with the long run in mind; instead all factors must be considered.

Interesting advice. What do you think? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Bradley Eggers

Beyond Folders : communication skills, Decision Making

Decision Making 101