Today I want to finish up the short series on decision-making that I’ve been writing about over the past two weeks. In previous blog posts, I’ve offered up proven techniques (most recently the impact of your decision one year from now), and this final tool I want to share with you today has also proven to be repeatedly successful. The tip: determine the most important information you are missing.
When it comes to decision-making, it’s very easy to focus on what you know. And in today’s data-driven world, it’s amazingly simple to get distracted by the deluge of information that’s often at your fingertips. There is usually no shortage of reports that can provide all kinds of facts, figures, numbers and statistics. Surrounded by so much information, one can easily ignore what is not there. Which is what makes this tool very powerful. With your team, brainstorm a list of what you don’t know – economic and competitive pressures, gaps in data, influences that require major assumptions – and keep it front and center when you evaluate alternatives. It is these missing pieces that can lead you down a path that you may come to regret later. But if you make it a point to create a list of this critical missing information, you can deliberately and thoughtfully keep it on your radar screen and fully consider these while you are making your decisions.
Today’s post brings to an end my short series on proven tools for improved decision-making. But what do you have to add to the list? What specific things are you doing to improve the quality of your decision-making? Please share your experiences with our learning community.