Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

What Makes a Decision Smart?

 

The Influential Leadership Advisory

Not all decisions are equally smart!

First make SMART decisions, then make them stick.

Make Smart Decisions, First

Leadership Note 0325 is the third in a series on Making Resolutions (Decisions) Stick.

Note 0325 is Part I of two parts that take us into the heart of effective decision making, namely, how to ensure we make smart decisions (that stick).

Firstly, we unfold what a decision is and then in Part II (Note 0425) we will examine the difference between productive and unproductive decisions and their outcomes in our lives.

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

You and I make decisions all the time—from routine matters that shift lives at the margin, to the extraordinary ones that shape our and others’ life paths.

Every decision we make, whether routine or extraordinary, has consequences—either making our lives better or worse.

Evidence suggests that while humans make decisions all the time, it is not easy to make smart ones, or to make them stick.

What we aim at, as Influential Leaders, is to secure the best outcomes, which requires smart decisions that stick.

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The previous two Notes began to explore how we make decisions stick.

• We set up the importance of having strategic intent and then followed that up with,
• The power of taking the first (small) step towards the end-goal.

The next two Notes provide a recipe for how to make smart choices.

Let us start by examining the essence of a decision.

Decision and Decide

We are going to nail down two associated words, namely, decision (noun) and (to) decide (verb).

To warm up our thinking, let us start with a dictionary variety for each term and then a more comprehensive one that covers both noun and verb.

A Decision is:

An authoritative determination or resolution made after the consideration of facts.

Note the four key elements:

1. The resolution holds authority—it is assured, credible and decisive (because of a credible and robust process).
2. The decision happens at the conclusion (after) of a credible process of consideration.
3. The decision-making process involves critical thinking (consideration).
4. The basis of the thinking are facts (evidence)—not the toss of a coin or the mumblings of an oracle.

The process of reaching a decision leads us to the verb, to decide.

To Decide means:

To choose something (such as, a particular course of action, or whether to believe something or someone) after thinking carefully about several possibilities based on associated evidence.

Once again, there are four key elements to the verb:

1. It is a calculated action based on a mental process that culminates in a choice.
2. The process requires careful thought (critical thinking).
3. The basis of the applied thinking is evidence (facts).
4. The choice and action happen after critical thinking has weighed the evidence.

You will notice that both definitions include the same four elements.

A Scholarly Perspective

Since Human #1 people have enquired about the nature of a decision.  Samuel Eilon, a professor of management sciences at the University of London, tussled with the question too in his article, What is a Decision?  He offers us the following definition from Harald Ofstad (professor of applied philosophy at Stockholm University).

To say that a person has made a decision may mean:

1. That he has started a series of behavioral reactions in favor of something, or it may mean,
2. That he has made up his mind to do a certain action, which he has no doubts that he ought to do.

But perhaps the most common use of the term is this: ‘to make a decision’ means:

3. To make a judgement regarding what one ought to do in a certain situation after having deliberated on some alternative courses of action.

Eilon, S. (1969).  What Is a Decision?  Management Science, 16(4), B172–B189. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2628797

Let us focus on Ofstad’s third offering.

To make a decision means:

To make a judgement regarding what one ought to do in a certain situation after having deliberated on some alternative courses of action.

We distil the following five main elements.  A decision is about:

1. A situation, a question, an opportunity, an end-goal.  A decision arises out of a situation and has a purpose (what one ought to do for some sound reason).
2. The application of judgement—insight, logic, reason—to an event, condition or circumstance.
3. The course of action a person should (ought) to pursue (based on the judgement).
4. Deliberation—pondering, thought, (and I love this way of putting it) brainwork… applied to alternatives.
5. Choosing (amongst alternatives) then acting, after deliberating.

The three definitions reinforce each other, although Ofstad’s version goes further by including the important suggestion that there is some end-goal in mind—we make decisions for some purpose.

In the context of Influential Leadership, we rationalise that smart decisions will always be for the betterment of our lives, and others’ lives too.

Does anyone purposefully make decisions for their lives to be worse off?  No.  But, it is clear that people make poor decisions all the time.

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Make Smart Decisions Stick

We want our resolutions and decisions to stick, but we must start with smart decisions.

Yes, dump a poor decision immediately!  Review, revise, make a smart one, then get going.

If your resolutions and decisions follow the proper process and contain the key ingredients, they will be smart and worth sticking to!

Next week we’ll explore how to apply the ingredients in our decision making for better lives.

Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
Influential Leaders make smart decisions!

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Leadership Note # 0325 | 200125
e: colind@karoo.world
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