Being a Libran ‘n all, I can get myself in a right knot when it comes to decision making, so it is always a bonus when I find ideas to help me make decisions. Oddly enough, I shared some of my own strategies last week to help a friend. Here’s three may find it useful too.
The 75% Rule
The thought behind this is that 75% is a goodly number. Basically you rate the option giving it a percentage value and then make your decision on the strength of that. I used this strategy several years ago to decide whether or not to take up a particular job should the offer come my way. After the interviews, I mulled things over, weighing up the pros and cons; could not make a clear decision and reverted to the 75% Rule.
The thought process went something like this:
Question: Should I take the job at company A if they offer it?
Answer: Yes
Question: How much? What’s the percentage?
Answer: 60%’
This strategy is based on the idea that 100% perfection may never turn up. So if you are asking yourself ‘should I do X’ and you rate the yes answer at 75% or more, then that is a good decision to go with. If you rate it less, you may want to review the situation, look for alternatives or decline the option.
By the way, I accepted the offer for the job I rated 60% and worked there for 11 years; some good, others not so great. I learnt a great deal and don’t regret a moment of it.
Weighted Ranking
This strategy is a more scientific and is great if you have two or more options to weigh up and there are many elements to consider when evaluating your options. The idea here is that you look at what is important to you and list those elements. So for instance, perhaps you have to decide between several opportunities that have come your way, be it contracts you have bid for or jobs you have applied for. You have done all the groundwork, they are all attractive and you now have to decide which one to go for.
First make that list of what is important to you – these are you decision making criteria. For example, if you are a working mom, elements may be:
Flexible work hours
Less than 1 hour commute
No weekend working
Ability to work from home
Job security
Workplace creche
Now set up a spreadsheet with the following headings: Criteria, Weighting, 1st option, 1st weighted ranking; 2nd option, 2nd weighted ranking; 3rd option, 3rd weighted ranking, continuing in this fashion for all your options.
In the weighting column, rate each decision making element on a scale of 1-10 in terms of importance, assigning higher numbers to the more important elements.
Next, look at each option in turn and rate it independently against the criteria. Put that in the 1st option, 2nd option, 3rd option columns and so on.
Now calculate the weighted ranking of each element using the weight you assigned to it. Start with option one, working each element in turn, multiply its rating with the weight you assigned for that element. Record the result in the 1st weighted ranking column. Do the same for the 2nd option and following options. Complete the table.
Finally, add up the weighted ranking numbers for each of the options and compare the totals. Using this process, the option with the highest weighted ranking total is the one you want.
It can be a bit complicated to describe this, so I hope it makes sense. You can look at a worked example here.
Ask Powerful Questions
My sister-in-law asked an incisive question when I was humming and ha-ing about coming to England.
‘When you are in your eighties and you look back on your life, would you regret not having done it?’
‘Most definitely!’ I exclaimed.
‘Well, then, there’s you answer’, she concluded.
What do you think I did?
Finally
Decision making becomes much easier when you are clear on what is important to you and the outcome you want. This is true whether you are making decisions about your life, career or business.
Get clear on what is important to you. Get clear on the outcome: What you want now, in the medium term and the long term. Make sure it satisfies those criteria. Also do this triple check: Is what you’re about to decide good for you, for everyone else and for the planet?
President Theodore Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
That’s right. Not making a decision is a form of decision making in its own right. It will result in an outcome and associated consequences. So if you have been avoiding making some decisions, perhaps these tools can help.
Lastly, decisions can be reversed; the majority are not cast in stone. As my friend from Bubbly Maths teaches, every outcome leads to learning, so go make that decision, learn from it, then you are better placed to make a more informed decision next time.
Photo Credit: Raja R from India
