You get up in the morning and have to choose what to have for breakfast, how long does it take you to decide - one, two, five minutes? On the other hand, deciding which career to study at university or deciding whether to relocate all your company's operations to another country involves much more analysis.
Decision-making is sometimes a complex process and is further complicated when the person has not developed the ability to make decisions. However, it is possible to acquire this skill with practice. Ernesto Weissmann, a specialist in strategy and decision making, recommends identifying four key aspects to improve the quality of your personal and professional decisions.
The objectives of the decision: the first step is to understand the purpose of the decision, putting the objectives on the table will guide you to reach a conclusion. Sometimes this is not so clear; for example, at a personal level there are moral or family factors that may make it difficult to define this objective.
At the corporate level, there are mixed objectives: personal, team, area or company-wide. The interests of the Finance department are often different from those of Marketing and this makes things difficult, it is best to take the time to clarify the scenario before deciding.
2. The alternatives: determine the alternatives available to you and if they do not lead to the objective you defined, do not even consider them in your analysis. Learn about each one of them and do not waste time on those that are not viable.
Uncertainty: Your choices always carry some risk, so define the pros and cons. Identify and understand the most critical variables that will impact each of the alternatives, so that you are not surprised by unforeseen outcomes.
Contingency plans: establish one or more strategies in case the decision culminates in a bad scenario, so that the damage is controllable. Monitor the risk that is greater and be prepared.
For Weissman, a good decision is not measured by the results, because many times they are the result of luck and, on other occasions, there are mistakes that are out of your control and can generate negative consequences. The important thing is to make conscious decisions, without allowing fear or negative emotions of the moment to affect you. Never allow yourself to base a permanent decision on a momentary feeling.
This article was published in the blog of INCAE in the newspaper La República.
