How would you rate the quality of your decisions this week?

I came across astonishing Decision-making Research results of 2027 Executives:
• 28% thought the quality of their decisions were good
• 60% thought bad decisions were as frequent as good ones
• 12% thought good decisions were infrequent.

How did your decisions this week impact you, others and your business results?

Overall the result that the majority thought that they made bad decisions as frequently as good ones was quite disturbing. Which triggered me to think about why this could be.

I learnt there are 42 decision-making bias at play, wow that seems a lot! On average Executives are making approximately 70 business decisions a day, 50% of decisions are made in 9 mins or less and other decisions may take an hour or more.

  • How many decisions are you making in less than 9 mins?
  • What criteria are you using to base these decisions on?

Tips to consider for effective decision-making

Summarise the problem – define the problem/ challenge you are looking to solve in a single sentence. Gain clarity on the importance of solving it and what value it will bring & to whom?

Reflection – Build in key reflection time into your day where you are likely to have positive insights. Some Exec’s find early in the morning whilst their pre-frontal cortex (thinking brain) is fresh during a shower, having breakfast, reading the news or during exercise.

Gathering information – being selective on how much and the type of information you require to make an informed decision. Too much information can cause brain overload and confuse your decision-making ability. One of the valued CEO’s I worked for, used the power of collecting 3 key data points from different sources to make his decisions.

Seeking counsel – it can be valuable to seek advice from experts, though it is best to seek counsel from those who can help you find a different perspective from your own (to expose potential blind spots) rather than people who are driving their own agenda or own experiences. A mentor or coach can be valuable in helping you to have insightful ideas, drawing from your deep filing cabinet of memories & past connections. Too often I find Executives draw on the knowledge of those who they connect with and think similar to them (this is where bias may occur).

Prospection – refers to our ability to ‘pre-experience’ the future by simulating the decision outcomes in our minds.