“How to make decisions quickly” was a question audience members asked so often in the Q&A section of my trainings and keynotes that I developed a resource to help them do so. I’m now making it available to all of you, without the need to come to my speeches. After all, making good choices is key to professional success. Often we have to do so quickly, especially for day-to-day matters where it’s sufficient to make a “good enough” decision, where it’s not worth the time and efforts to make the best possible choice.
The key to making good decisions – whether as an individual or as part of an organizational policy – involves avoiding many subtle dangerous judgment errors. Scholars in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics call these cognitive biases.
Perhaps the easiest and quickest technique takes only 5 minutes: asking 5 key questions about a given decision that will enable you to avoid the large majority of mental blindspots while maximizing the likelihood of making a “good enough” decision and implementing it well. I first created this method based on cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics science to help my consulting and coaching clients in large and mid-size businesses and nonprofits. I’m now sharing it so that others who can’t afford my services may still benefit from my expertise.
I call it the “5 Questions to Avoid Decision Disasters.” You should apply this tactic to any day-to-day decision that you don’t want to turn into a disasters.
We make many daily decisions every day that, if we’re not careful, can come back and bite us. How many times have you sent an email that you later regretted? How often did you observe – or participate in – unnecessary office drama, which harms employee engagement and productivity? When was the last time you or others in your workplace skipped working on important and not urgent tasks for the sake of less important but urgent ones? MORE FROM
These and many more everyday decisions can really hurt us if we make the wrong choices repeatedly and consistently. Since the essence of cognitive biases involves predictable and systematic errors, they lead to us making regular wrong choices in daily decisions.
I remember one time when I forgot to use this technique on an important email to a business collaborator. Now, it was late and I was sleepy, but this guy is pretty touchy and high-maintenance, and I knew it. The email came off as curt to him and upset him, as he told me in no uncertain terms. I then had to spend over half an hour composing an apology email to him, thinking about how to communicate my apology in the best possible way, reading and re-reading it, and of course applying this method. He ostensibly forgave me, but was less eager to do business afterward.
So not only did failing to use the technique cost me much more time, but it also cost me some serious money. People do business with those they like, and that decrease in liking was something I could clearly see in the much lower interest in doing deals with this person.
Don’t let it happen to you. Use the “5 Questions” technique on all everyday decisions that you don’t want to turn into a disaster, as happened to me.
However, you’ll want to use a more in-depth technique to make moderately important choices and a very thorough one for critical and/or complex decisions. The “5 Questions” technique will miss some of the more complex threats and unexpected opportunities accompanying such impactful decisions. To really protect yourself and your bottom line, take the time needed to weigh carefully the bigger decisions.
We make hundreds of small decisions each day without thinking twice. But when it comes to more complex choices analysis paralysis can slow us down. We get stuck weighing pros and cons, unable to commit to a path forward.
As leaders and professionals making quick yet sound decisions is an essential skill. Lingering over choices burns time and resources while delaying progress.
Whether you’re deciding between job offers, investment options, or product features, you can train yourself to decide faster. With the right framework and mindset shifts, you can make sharp judgments even with limited time and information.
Follow these 8 tips to overcome indecisiveness and start deciding with speed and certainty
1. Determine the Actual Stakes
Before rushing into a quick decision, evaluate the stakes. How critical is the choice and what are the implications if you choose poorly? This context helps determine how much time to spend.
For daily low-stakes decisions like what to eat for lunch, it’s fine to go with your gut instinct. But with choices that significantly impact finances, health, or company direction, more care is warranted.
Categorize decisions into:
-
Low stakes: Made instantly based on experience and intuition. If the outcome isn’t ideal, the consequences are minor.
-
Moderate stakes: Worth gathering some data to inform the call, but analysis shouldn’t drag on for too long.
-
High stakes: Require sufficient upfront research and input to make the right choice, but avoid overthinking minor details.
Determining the stakes upfront directs how vigorously you need to evaluate options before deciding. Don’t waste time over-analyzing minor choices unnecessarily.
2. Define Your Goal or Objective
Even straightforward choices have multiple potential outcomes to weigh. Before comparing options, clarify what you hope to accomplish with your decision.
Ask yourself:
- What specific goal am I trying to achieve?
- What would the best case scenario look like?
- What metrics or KPIs define success for this decision?
Defining an objective guides your data collection and analysis. As you evaluate alternatives, you can rule out those that don’t move you closer to your goal.
For example, if your goal is to maximize monthly newsletter subscribers, options leading to the highest open and click through rates become priorities. Metrics that don’t directly impact subscriptions like social shares are less relevant.
A clear objective simplifies decision making by telling you what matters most. Circle back to it if you ever feel stuck or overwhelmed by possibilities.
3. Establish Decision Criteria in Advance
Determine 3-5 must-have criteria any viable option should meet before comparing choices. This filters the field and identifies contenders with the highest potential.
To develop criteria, think through specific requirements needed to meet your goal. For a product launch, key criteria may include aligning with customer needs, beating competitor pricing, and minimizing production costs.
Share your criteria with stakeholders involved in the decision to get their input. Make sure you’re using the right evaluation standards before spending time on analysis.
Look back at the goal or objective. Will your criteria effectively determine which options can achieve it? Revise them if needed until you have firm standards.
Outlining decision criteria speeds up evaluation by automatically eliminating choices that don’t meet critical bars. You focus only on the feasible ones worth comparing.
4. Gather Relevant Data and Evidence
Informed decisions require quality information. But rather than attempting to amass all data around a choice, be selective in what you collect based on your criteria and objective.
Gather just enough research to reasonably compare alternatives and predict which meets criteria. Data might include:
- Financial costs, ROI or budget impact
- Customer preferences and insights
- Market analysis and projections
- Product testing results
- Legal, compliance or regulatory issues
- Operational constraints
Specify what metrics or facts would be convincing enough to choose one option over others. Don’t keep accumulating data once you hit that sufficiency threshold.
Set a time limit on research to avoid over-analysis. Task others with gathering pertinent info to avoid wasting your time hunting down marginal details.
Stay focused on your criteria as you collect evidence. Irrelevant data only complicates decisions without adding value.
5. Minimize Emotion Influencing Your Judgment
It’s natural for emotions and personal bias to pull you toward certain alternatives over others. But intuitive gut reactions aren’t always the optimal way to decide.
Look at decisions analytically against your criteria versus going by sentiment alone. Beware of common traps like:
-
Sunk cost fallacy: Choosing based on money or time already spent rather than future potential
-
Anchoring bias: Over-relying on the first data point or option considered
-
Confirmation bias: Favoring evidence supporting your existing inclinations, overlooking other info
-
Overconfidence: Acting on opinions and assumptions rather than facts
Strive to be objective by giving all options equal consideration. Have others involved in the decision play “devil’s advocate” questioning your thinking.
Silencing emotion in favor of rational data takes discipline but avoids missteps. Intuition has its place once choices are narrowed.
6. Commit Fully Once You Make Your Choice
After completing sufficient research and weighing alternatives, make a firm decision and commit to that path. Lingering doubts paralyze progress.
Avoid hedging or making tentative choices that leave doors open to change course later. That indecisiveness drags out the process and implementation.
Communicate decisions clearly and alignment throughout your team. Ensure everyone is moving decisively in one direction together.
Embrace that making fast calls with imperfect information involves inherent risks. But backing out or flip flopping magnifies that downside. Stick with your chosen option long enough to accurately evaluate its outcome.
Stay confident in decisions that meet the criteria you defined earlier. Trust in the process and data that got you there.
Of course, reserve the right to alter course if new information reveals you’ve made a mistake. But don’t let fear of being wrong cripple your ability to decide and act.
7. Delegate Follow-Up Tasks and Monitoring
Once you’ve made a decision, immediately shift into execution mode. Outline required next steps and delegate tasks to move forward.
Avoid getting bogged down personally overseeing every minor detail. Hand off implementation responsibilities to trusted team members according to their strengths and bandwidth.
Define success metrics and timelines for follow-up monitoring and evaluation. Circle back at the 30, 60 and 90 day marks to review progress without micromanaging daily operations.
Taking swift action creates momentum that builds confidence. You gain real world feedback on whether your choice appears sound rather than debating hypotheticals.
Stay involved enough to keep initiatives on track and aligned with the desired goal. But concentrating your energy on making the next decision speeds progress.
8. Limit How Long You Gather Research
When facing complex decisions, it’s tempting to endlessly gather more data hoping to minimize risk. But sometimes you have to cut off analysis and make a judgment call with available information.
Set a defined timeframe for research, like a few hours, days or weeks depending on the situation. When time expires, move into comparing options and deciding.
Picking arbitrarily if needed beats overthinking into paralysis. If new information emerges later, you can adjust accordingly. But don’t mistake procrastination for prudence.
Look out for analysis continuing beyond the point of diminishing returns where added data no longer changes the decision. Recognize when you’ve hit that threshold and shift to deciding.
With practice, you’ll get comfortable making fast calls even when facing imperfect or incomplete information. Perfect certainty is rare. At some point, you have to take a leap.
By limiting excessive delays, you often reach sound outcomes faster. Quick decisions keep initiatives moving, people engaged and priorities accomplished.
With the right framework, mindset and practice, speed and quality don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Follow these tips to start deciding faster while still considering options wisely. Sharpening your judgment skills builds leadership and gets results.
Second question: what relevant dangerous judgment errors did I not yet address?
There are many different kinds of cognitive biases, some more relevant than others to specific kinds of decisions. I made an assessment for the 30 most dangerous cognitive biases in the workplace, which you can use that as a guide.
Third question: what would a trusted and objective adviser suggest I do?
I hope you have mentors, coaches, consultants, and other experts to whom you can turn to help you make a good decision. It’s often decisions that we make by ourselves or in small groups with a powerful leader that cause successful businesses and high-flying careers to come crashing down. If you don’t have anyone to ask, try to imagine what a trusted and objective adviser might tell you. Doing so can have a surprisingly positive impact on your decision-making outcomes, leading you to recognize some biased mental patterns.
Fourth question: how have I addressed all the ways it could fail?
This question transitions from the stage of deciding which option to choose into implementing this choice to achieve your goals. Indeed, if you choose the best option available but drop the ball on implementation, you’re not going to reach your goals; this question helps ensure that you will achieve your envisioned outcome.
Now, while you’re mostly settled on your choice, be ready to rethink the option you picked if you discover truly momentous obstacles in enactment. Sometimes, as you consider how you’re going to implement what seems to be the best option, you will come to recognize that it was not the best choice after all. Then, it’s time to go back and revisit earlier stages with this new information you now have available. Consider one of the other 5 attractive options you generated.
First question: what important information did I not yet fully consider?
A common danger involves looking only for evidence that supports your preferred option, so make sure to look twice as hard for evidence that goes against your preferred option. Another aspect of “important information” involves generating sufficient options from which to choose, as opposed to being lazy and undisciplined by settling on the first viable option. Try to find at least 5 attractive options if at all possible to make a wise choice.
At the same time, you want to avoid gathering too much information and getting stuck in what’s known as “analysis paralysis.” Focus on gathering only truly important information. Ideally, you’d take time to consider what kind of information is truly important before starting to decide, so that you don’t have to make that determination in the heat of the moment during the decision-making process.
How to make faster decisions | The Way We Work, a TED series
How to make faster decisions?
Here is a process for how to make faster decisions in six steps: 1. Determine the stakes Figure out the stakes or importance of your decision. For low-stakes decisions, spend less time making your choice so that you can have more energy for decisions with greater importance. A decision may be low-stakes if one or more of the following are true:
How can I improve my decision-making skills?
Hone your decision-making skills and decision-making process using this expert advice: 1. Know what size decision you’re making. Successful people recognize that there are small, medium, and large decisions. “Small decisions impact you for a day, such as what you wear and what you eat,” Whitaker says.
Why does making faster decisions matter?
Making faster decisions can benefit both you as an individual and your business. Here are some reasons that making quicker decisions matters: Optimized cost-efficiency: Businesses that spend too much time making decisions may find their operational costs are higher, as they spend more time getting fewer tasks done.
How do I balance out my decision-making skills?
Here are 5 tips to help us balance out our decision-making skills. 1. The 2-Minute Rule The idea behind this tip is to force action through a self-imposed deadline. It’s simple enough to incorporate: Any time you have to make a decision, just set the timer and begin the process.
