Making Thoughtful Decisions using “Decision Vertices”

In today’s dynamic world, we are always presented with plenty of decision making situations. A study says that people make around 35,000 conscious decisions every day, in addition to several thousand sub-conscious decisions.

These decisions could have immediate, mid-term and long-term consequences and often we may lack the confidence to face the consequences, or we are not prepared to own the consequences of those decisions. Hence, we often tend to avoid, procrastinate, deliberate, or deflect the decision-making process. The consequences of decisions compound themselves in an organizational set up. Despite having benefits such as experience, support system or authority, we will never be able to prepare ourselves for some decisions. Lack of time or information plagues the decision-making process, and we are forced to fall back on impulse more often that we intend to. There is no precise playbook that is readily available.

Decision Vertices

In such scenarios, a technique that I have often found useful is to formulate my own “Decision Vertices”. These are, in a way lenses through which I view the situation at hand, before making decisions. These decision vertices are also in-tune with the values I believe in and makes the decision-making process more authentic and organic. Navigating the decision-making process with these vertices as guiding poles makes it an extremely liberating experience and helps converge on decisions which could draw broader acceptance.

For instance, at PayPal our employees around the world build software products that help our world-wide customers to securely move and manage their money. In my role, I prefer having an eye on the four decision vertices (portrayed in the figure below), which are Customer Experiences, Employee Welfare, Stakeholder Impact and Technology Platforms. My decision-making approach revolves around these four vertices to help determine the path forward.

These decision vertices could vary based on the individual’s field of work and the role played. While there could be innumerable decision vertices that you can formulate, it is advisable that you prioritize the top four or five vertices that are most important to you, based on the values you respect. You can also pick those that are relevant for your organization, team, and the chosen field of work. Once you determine those decision vertices, consciously pivot your thoughts, conversations, and explorations around these vertices so that they can guide you in the right direction.

It is not possible to always place equal weightage on all vertices. Depending upon the situation at hand, we will have to place more weightage on one vertex than the others. But, by keeping these vertices as our guiding compass, we can be more confident that we have made the best possible decision and will be able to convey the rationale behind the decision in an authentic manner.

I invite comments about your opinions about “Decision Vertices” and keen to know what your decision vertices would look like.