How to make good decisions
From choosing a university degree to pursue to pursing a life partner, decisions are the bedrock for it all. Therefore having an idea on how to make good decisions is key. This article provides a framework to make good decisions.
Have you ever been unsure where to go for dinner before? Or maybe you stay at an electronics store all day to decide which laptop to buy? Or are you unable to choose between the two partners like in the movie Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal.
These are all examples of situations where you need to make a decision. You can either make a decision at random. Or you can do what Shane Parrish, author of Clear Thinking recommends and make a good decision based on clear thinking principles.
Four stages to a good decision
In order to get the results we desire, we must do two things. We must first create the space to reason in our thoughts, feelings, and actions; and second, we must deliberately use that space to think clearly. Once you have mastered this skill, you will find you have an unstoppable advantage.
-Shane Parish
Shane highlights four stages to a good decision:
- Defining the problem
- Exploring possible solutions
- Evaluating options
- Executing best option
Stage 1: Defining the problem
This is the stage that people often overlook. But overlooking this stage could change the outcome dramatically. Here’s an example highlighted in the book.
A pet shelter in California was often at capacity. They could’ve done what other shelters do, which is organising an adoption event. Although that would solve their short term problem of overcrowding, it didn’t solve their long term problem of pet owners bringing their pets in.
They found out that most pet owners turned their pets in because they couldn’t care for them. This was typically due to financial pressures. And the shelter worked out that providing pet owners support was cheaper than housing the pet.
Therefore defining their problem well led them to a long term solution for overcrowding.
How to relates to you
For addressing a problem, Shane recommends having two meetings instead of one. One to define the problem, and the next to come up with solutions. This combats our tendency of jumping straight to solutions.
Stage 2: Exploring possible solutions
Once the problem is well defined, next comes the options to solve the problem. And for this, Shane recommends an exercise in second level thinking.
Second level thinking is where you take a solution and ask the question, ‘And then what?’ By doing this, we get to understand the consequences of that decision.
A simple example to explain this concept is chocolate. When you’re hungry, a chocolate may seem like a good option to satiate your hunger. But eating chocolate often without forethought may be an unhealthy choice.
Therefore it’s important to fully understand the consequences of your choice. And you can do that by asking, ‘And then what?’
How to relates to you
When you are coming up with potential solutions to your problem, be sure to ask the question, ‘And then what?’
Stage 3: Evaluating options
This is the most crucial stage of the decision-making process. This is because this stage determines what decision you end up making.
And the key concept for the stage is criteria. Criteria are the various factors you use to whittle down your options to make the best decision.
Shane says if you are struggling to define your criteria, then you either don’t understand the problem, or you don’t understand the general features a criteria is supposed to have.
The following features are necessary for your criteria:
- Clarity - It needs to be simple and free of jargon
- Goal-promotion - It must favours the options that achieve your goal
- Decisiveness - The criteria should allow you to pick one clear winning option
But be warned, the selection of the criteria ultimately determines the option that you end up choosing. So pick them wisely.
How to relates to you
The simplest example of criteria is the Project Management triangle of quality, time and cost. When making a decision on a project, you must decide which of these you want to prioritise. If you were to pick time, it might cause your quality to be less than optimal.
Stage 4: Executing best option
Knowing what you need to do isnt enough though, you have to take action. Do it.
-Shane Parrish
None of what we discussed matters if we dont actually execute on our preferred option. If you have come this far, then trust that you have put in the work and just do it!
Hope you found something useful from this post. Be sure to upvote this post if you enjoyed it. Also subscribe if you want to hear more!
Until next time, Tony
Postscript: this post is dedicated to Lenny, the dog who was providing emotional support as I wrote the last lines of this post.