Posted on January 19, 2011 in Management

Seven steps to sound decisions

Author: Maureen Moore
Maureen Moore is a writer, post-secondary ESL instructor and workplace training developer with passions for environmental issues and cross-cultural communication throughout a 20-year professional career. For more information about Maureen and her work, visit www.maureenmoorecom.com/

Decision making is a key role for business owners and managers, and effective managers make countless decisions every day. Many of these decisions are made automatically, but business professionals usually make decisions after careful thought and consideration. Sound decisions are based on a series of steps, and those people who are thought to be “born decision makers” are those who take the time to follow these steps and avoid the pitfalls.

Many people struggle when it comes to making decisions. This may be due to a fear of failure, procrastination or lack of a structured approach to decision making. Sound decision making should begin with an analysis of your personal decision making process. Think of the last important decision that you had to make. Did you put off making the decision as long as possible? Was it a “snap decision”? Did you lack the confidence to make the decision for yourself? Did you act on logic or on emotion and “gut feeling” when making the decision?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, go back in your mind and think through the following steps. If you had followed these steps, would you have made a different and better decision?

Identify the real issue.

Sometimes it is difficult to identify the real decision to be made. If an employee is consistently late for work, you may think that the real decision is whether or not to fire her or him. In fact, the real decision is whether or not that employee is actually a valuable asset to the business and worth working with to change the behaviour.

Gather facts and seek reliable advice.

Before making a decision, gather as many facts as possible. This may include seeking reliable advice. Seek the advice of those people who you know to make sound decisions, and be sure those you ask have enough knowledge of the subject to offer good advice. Be wary of any advice that is offered right away. Often the best advice comes from those who say, “Let me think about it and get back to you”. Deciding how much advice is enough is another important skill. The advice of just one person may limit your options while the advice of too many will cloud the issue.

List the possible outcomes and write the pros and cons for each.

If, for example, your landlord tells you that the rent for your shop is going double the following month, you may have to move. You will need to decide whether to buy your own facility, continue to rent in the same area, move to a new area, downsize or upsize. This is an important decision that may affect the future of your business, and you should take the time to write out the pros and cons of each possible decision. This step will help you to sort out the options in your mind.

Examine the pros and cons of each option and make a shortlist of the best.

Be sure that the ideal outcomes would be feasible based on ethics, legality, economics, staffing and other factors. You may be frustrated by dealing with landlords, but can you really afford to buy your own facility? How will it affect your customers if you move to a different area? What are the legal implications of firing the employee who is consistently late? Once the options have been examined from every possible angle, choose the best.

Sleep on it.

While some decisions need to be made in an instant, there is usually time to think before making a final decision. Recent studies have shown that the brain sorts out emotion from logic while we sleep, so it is often desirable to wait until the next day to act on a decision. Often a decision that feels sound one day will seem like a knee jerk reaction the next day. Sleeping on it for one night is a different thing from just hoping it will go away. Procrastination gives small problems time to grow into big ones.

Act decisively and with confidence once the decision has been made.

If you have followed all of the above steps, you should have the confidence to know that you have made the best possible decision based on the facts available.

Decision making is a skill like any other, and practice makes perfect. Always be prepared to evaluate your decisions and honestly admit to yourself if they were sound and if not, how they could have been improved. Even if the mere thought of making a decision terrifies you today, over time you can perfect your decision making skills. Eventually, you may come to be known as a "born decision maker".

Maureen Moore is a writer, post-secondary ESL instructor and workplace training developer with passions for environmental issues and cross-cultural communication throughout a 20-year professional career. For more information about Maureen and her work, visit www.maureenmoorecom.com/