Make Better Decisions, Not More!
Just read Seth Godin’s post for today, about why it’s generally better to make more decisions, as opposed to making fewer. While I agree with Seth that just doing something can be better than nothing, I think that greasing the wheels of process (how we decide) will lead to better outcomes.
photo credit: Elsie esq.
Here’s what I mean. The people Seth is talking about – those deciding to do nothing (which as he points out, is a decision in itself), are likely having a hard time because they don’t have a clear thought process on how to make decisions. Good decisions happen like this:
Understanding – Step back two paces. What is it we’re trying to solve, fix, or make better? What are the outcomes we want?
Alternatives – what are the possible courses of actions we can take? Where will those alternatives take us?
Decide – After we better understand what we’re after, and have imagined alternative scenarios, picking a course of action (deciding) should be easier.
My main point is this: those locked in the quicksand of indecisiveness are typically there because they are overwhelmed by the complexity of their situation. So they do nothing. Take control of the process, and better decisions will happen.
