How to Make Effective Decisions

Use Visualization & Intuition to Reach Goals

Faced with making a decision, many people are paralyzed with anxiety, fear, and doubt. Decisions are often postponed to gather more information, or delayed because the time isn't right, or simply because no decision seems ideal. Be a confident, effective decision maker with this nine-step process.

How to Make a Decision

Using this nine-step process for better decision making will make your decision making easier, surer, and more confident. Having a process, such as this decision making tool, will reduce what seems an overwhelming task to a series of small steps.

• A Good Decision: Strive for a good decision, not a perfect decision. The perfect decision can only be made with hindsight. Making a decision always involves unknown future events. The wise decision maker sets an intention for the best decision possible at the time.

• Define the Problem: Decision making is tough enough without confusion about the problem to be solved. Spend some time writing down the problem. This will clarify the issue and lead naturally to the next step.

• Make a Decision with Good Information: With the problem clearly defined, identify the information needed to make a good decision. Most of the time there will be information unavailable or uncertain. This is not the time to automatically delay the decision. Instead, shoot for 70% of the information necessary for a good, but not perfect decision.

• Constraints to the Decision: Identify the constraints bounding the decision to be made. These are generally time, money, information, and people resources.

• When Must a Decision be Made: Most decisions have a time constraint. If a decision time has been handed down, clarify the degree of flexibility available. Set a target time frame for decisions without a hard and fast due date. Otherwise the tendency will be to postpone and delay.

• Visualize the End Solution: As with reaching any goal, seeing the end result is critical to achieving the goal. Visualize the end result of the decision to be made. What does it look like now that the problem has been solved? Visualize in great detail, with color and emotion.

• Honor Personal and Business Values: The toughest decisions are often those that involve values conflicts. Examine the values associated with this decision. Decisions that might violate important values will cause significant levels of anguish and stress. The best decisions feel right.

• Better Decision Making with Intuition: Business decisions often fail to use the intuitive wisdom of decision makers. With the uncertainties of future events and the expected absence of total information, intuition is a valuable tool for good decision making.

• Make a Decision: If the previous steps have been followed and the decision due date is at hand, it's time to decide. The decision maker should accept that the decision is the best that can be made at the time and with the information available. Second-guessing with hindsight is always easy. Good decision makers understand that and refrain from second-guessing others.