Making Better Decisions
Andreas von der Heydt
Member of the Executive Board - International Business and Online
When it comes to decision-making, it is essential to know that there exist 4 so-called villains of decision-making. To know them is critical to get to thoughtful and effective decisions.
In addition, one is well advised to appreciate that the decision-making process matters more than the analysis part which often represents the starting point. Consequently, it’s not just the outcome that is relevant for people to buy into decisions, but also the process.
?The 4 Villains of Successful Decision-Making
?The 4 villains are the following:
A Better Decision-Making Process
To arrive at better decisions is a direct outcome of knowing and applying high-impact decision-making strategies which tackle the 4 villains head-on:
Widen your options: Expand your set of choices and avoid narrow framing. Be aware of the confirmation bias that leads you to gather self-serving info.
Reality test your assumptions: Get outside your head and collect the information you can trust. When making a choice be careful of short-term emotions which tempt you to make the wrong decision often.
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Attain distance before deciding: Overcome short-term emotions and think long term.
Prepare to be wrong: Plan in the best possible manner for an uncertain future so that you give your decisions the best chance to succeed.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts and leave a comment below.
Important: In my next article I′ll present detailed strategies and actions for each of the 4 counter approaches listed above.
Wishing you a successful week. Speak soon.
Kind regards,
PS: This article is strongly inspired by the excellent book “Decisive” written by Chip and Dan Heath. You wouldn′t want to miss reading it!
Assistant Surveyor│Oil and Gas Canada│ A friend
2 年I like this article, Andreas! Applying strategies in decision-making is helpful especially when you are in a tight spot. Aside from having wise decisions, we should also be decisive in making one. This article gives me insights into my next decision-making.?? Looking forward to your next article Andreas. ??
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2 年As a trainer of career coaches, I see all the time how professionals limit their own career options. There are actually five mental filters through which we put all of our decision-making. this is a subconscious process, however. The more we tap into this to understand our unique decision making process, the better the decisions we will make. and yes, there is a way to tap into this process!
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2 年Great to receive the inside out science on decision making. Really groundbreaking and full of possibilities. I'm thanking you Andreas von der Heydt for this invaluable share.
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2 年1. I'm glad that you make these points. When one chooses with whom one makes decisions, it's useful to prefer people who help consider more things in order to enable as high a degree of realism as possible. In many cases one does try to make a decision / choice very soon or at very low (psychological) costs, so we try to persuade ourselves that we're already seeing the best choices for our plan. On what are you going to decide soon? Emotions, feelings, and views play an important role. It's easier to deal with emotions e.g. by conversing enough with the right person. Feelings and views influence decisions more, so one needs an excellent dialogue with an advisor who really has their best interest at heart to balance their influence with that of other important factors. I encourage people to think for longer terms. They are probable to benefit more when they do. We can practice such thinking when you want. On the one hand, it's natural for actions, e.g. planning, to be imperfect, so one might feel that one has made a wrong decision. On the other hand, we can make it a habit to pay attention, be provident, and adjust plans. 2. I'm going to subscribe to this newsletter. Did you ask me to?
Hi Andreas, I like your article. It reminds me of the daily work of product managers (PM) ?? ....An experienced PM works hypothesis-driven and regularly validates the assumptions at hand by experimenting during his work (i.e. Product Discovery). He knows that clearly prioritized experimentation (including testing of "leap of faith" assumptions) increases the outcome ?? and meanwhile promotes what he calls "learning efficiency." Could this "learning efficiency" also be applied to "successful decision making" by increasing the number of "Fail Fast/Learn Fast/Adjust Fast" decisions ?? ? I look forward to hearing your perspective.