$#it or Get off the Pot: 3 Simple Methods for Managers to Make Better Decisions

​One of the most important skills you need to have as a manager is that of decision making. But here's the problem: indecisiveness can impede the efforts of even the most adept decision makers. Fortunately (insert sarcasm!), there are hundreds of ways to approach decision making and even more books and opinions on the matter.  In this post, I want to share the three inclinations to indecisiveness I discovered during my development as a manager, and three methods to overcome them.
 
Decision making overload
 
When I first became a manager, I was given some sage advice by one of the engineering greybeards: the ability to make results-oriented decisions could make or break a career. 
 
I realized that I had a lot to learn. 
 
So I read whatever I could about decision making theory and practice. A lot. I sought out opinions about decision making from anyone who would offer them. Who knew that flipping a coin would be a method alive and well in the business world?
 
I went to grad school to study systems engineering and analytical methods for holistic decision making. And of course, I made a lot of decisions – good and not so good – along the way and measured the results to determine the methods that worked and those that didn’t. 
 
What I discovered are the three things that contribute to indecisiveness, and three methods to power through them.  My approach here isn't to offer another opinion; rather, condense the methods I've used and watched other leaders successfully employ to make results-oriented decisions critical to their business.
 
The inclination to indecisiveness
 
Making decisions is hard and mentally taxing, and more often than not, we default (even for a short time) to a state of indecisiveness.  The inclination to indecisiveness can be summed up in the following three points:

• The paradox of avoidance – avoiding a decision rarely brings about a good outcome, even if you wish it so. This is the knot in your gut when you know a decision needs to be made, but it’s easier just to ignore it.   
• Analysis paralysis – too much data, information, and analysis can be a bad thing.  All too often, the amount of information required to make a decision isn’t well defined before a decision is considered.
• Fear of failure – the fear of picking the wrong option.  Just decide (even if it means you choose the do nothing option).  A wrong decision can always be corrected, but a decision unmade means too much time on the pot.

 
To power through the impenetrable wall of indecisiveness, here are three methods to help you make better decisions, faster.
 
3 proven methods to cover 99% of your decision making
 
In my last blog post, I identified the 3 main types of decisions (low risk, medium risk, high risk) and the three factors to consider for each (people, impact, complexity).  Here are the three proven methods to use when making either type of decision.

   1. Use your intuition

• Great for low risk decisions. 
• While it's true that we live in a world where there is an infinite supply of quantitative data to help us substantiate any decision, this can be debilitating.  In many cases, what's needed isn't more information.  What's needed is a decision, and that's where it's OK to use your gut when the risks are low (few implications if you're wrong) and you have experience with the topic at hand.
• Where things go off the rails is when instinct is used for high risk, uninformed decisions where there's no looking back once the decision is made.

   2. Use a pro/con list (T-chart)

• Great for medium risk decisions where there few alternatives.
• Many decisions we encounter are of the either/or type, such as deciding between two candidates (hiring, or even voting), for which the pro/con list method is ideally suited.
• Keep your decision making values front and center with a pro/con list method as you'll need to assess how the pro's and con's line up with the values you’ve defined for your business.

 
   3. Use a decision matrix

• Great for high risk decisions where there are a lot of people involved, there's the potential for a high impact to your business, or the complexity of the decision is high.
• This is a more labor intensive process as you’ll need to include weighted values for your deciding criteria, in addition to the options from which to choose.  Insight and opinion from others is recommended, as is a little more time to make the decision.

 
Stay off the pot
 
Spend your time and energy where it counts.  Use your intuition for lower risk, more routine decisions and make them quickly.
 
Invest your time in high risk decisions and use an appropriate method like a decision matrix to guide you. With this method, you’ll make more high-quality decisions, faster, and with a better outcome.
 
Send me an email or comment below if you’d like access to simple templates for the pro/con list and decision matrix tools, or if you’d like more information about any of the topics discussed in this post.