Do you know that you have spent your whole life making decisions? You are currently an embodiment of the decisions you have made before and you will be the personification of your present decisions going into the future. But you’ve probably never thought much about what it takes to build and expand your decision prowess.
Let’s look at it critically, Google took a decision to democratize data and information by making it available and accessible to everyone and anyone with an internet connection. You have to understand that Google is consistently executing this decision every day. This why they are at the zenith of information on earth.
We know that Facebook has acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in order to tighten its noose in the Social Media space.
What many have failed to realize is that the decision process is much more than just weighing the pros and cons or selecting from various alternatives. It’s a systematic way of thinking and execution that helps reduce things like bias, improve the outcome of each action you take in life as well as scale your value creation efforts across your personal development, relationships, career and even business.
At this point, I want to emphasize that converting the decision into action is the most crucial component in the decision process. While thinking through the boundary conditions is the most difficult step in the decision process, converting the decision into effective action is usually the most time-consuming one. Yet a decision will not become effective unless the action commitments have been built into it from the start. In fact, no decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific steps has become someone’s work assignment and responsibility for which accountability is necessary. Until then, it is only a good intention.
You and I know that the flaw in so many policy statements, especially those of business, is that they contain no action commitment—to carry them out is no one’s specific work and responsibility. Little wonder that the people in the organization tend to view such statements sceptically, if not as declarations of what top management is really not going to do.
Converting a decision into action requires answering several distinct questions:
- Who has to know of this decision?
- What action has to be taken?
- Who is to take it?
- What does the action have to be so that the people who have to do it can do it?
The first and the last of these questions are too often overlooked—with dire results.
Yes, you may have probably picked up some decision skills through experience. However, I want to let you know that experience is not enough because making the best decisions requires training and capacity building.
To help you leave those poor decisions behind for good, I highly recommend a course on the Skillcomvalley platform called Decision Management.
You don’t have to be perfect, but deciding on a course of action based on sound principles opens the door to better decisions and more consistent results. The truth is that you need to impart precision, consistency, speed and agility in your decision process if not you become a victim of the decisions of others simply because you refused to take charge and control of your outcomes on your own terms.
You will agree with me that the realm of decisions is truly a fascinating science and art because it incorporates psychology, sociology, neurology, strategy, management, philosophy, logic and a host of others.
Show me every great brand and organization and I will point you to a robust and vibrant Decision Management system and execution culture because a decision is a mere wish without a transition into actions for results.
In my experience, Problem Solving and Decisions are like two sides of a coin because most decisions consist of problem-solving activities that end when a satisfactory solution is reached and executed.
In order for you to optimize your decision process, you also need to take a course on Problem Solving so as to be well grounded and better equipped to become a master decision expert irrespective of your field or industry.
Decision is a central skill necessary for success. This requires that you accurately and consistently weigh various paths, determine and execute the optimal route of action.
My last word is that optimizing your decision process can mean the difference between the failure or success of whatever you are and will ever be in this life.
Looking forward to getting some feedback from you in form of comments, contributions or questions which I will gladly respond to @ maxwellyekaghe@gmail.com