Making Decisions

To Take a Decision Faster

  1. Do you have enough information? Note that the marginal gain from having additional information is rarely worth the effort.

  2. Is it high impact? If yes, go ahead. If not, ask whether it’s worth it.

  3. Is it expensive in terms of energy and price? If it’s low, go ahead. If high, reconsider relevance.

  4. Is it reversible? If so, make the decision more quickly. Hiring someone is reversible; letting someone go is not.

Decision Heuristic

  1. Kidlin’s Law - If you write a problem down clearly and specifically, you have solved half of it.

  2. Wilson’s Law - If you prioritise knowledge and intelligence, money will continue to come.

  3. Falkland’s Law - If you don’t have to decide on something, then don’t decide.

  4. Gilbert’s Law - When you take on a task, finding the best ways to achieve the desired result is always your responsibility.

  5. Murphy’s Law - The more you fear something happening, the more likely it is to occur.

(Credit: corentin.trebaol.com)

Dan Ariely on Making Decisions

What’s happening in my brain when I make a decision?

Our brain is not designed to make modern day decisions such as using the brakes in the car when someone suddenly comes. It is evolved to make decisions such as being afraid from snakes, recognising colour, differentiating faces etc. It is not designed to save energy.

How do I make a decision under stress?

We don’t make good decisions under stress. Stress narrows down our attention and focuses on only a few things. In the jungle, when there is a tiger, our brain narrows out decisions instead of evaluating all decisions and finding pros and cons.

Stress is also emotional. Emotion decreases cognition. To make a good decision, we have to consider all possibilities and select the best one. When there is stress, delay your decision until you have lowered stress.

Take a third person’s opinion. Since they are not involved in the decision, they can see the situation more cold and calculated way. Trick. Give yourself some advice. Rohit, what advice would you give in situation x?

How do I make a decision when the stakes are high?

When the stakes are high, emotions are also high and more people would look at the decision. When a decision gets bigger, we focus more on the downside. When the decisions are larger, put them in the bigger frame.

Why do I procrastinate on making a decision?

People don’t want to deal with change. Stop and reflect.

How do I decide when someone will be negatively impacted?

Who are you obliged to? Organisation or Individual? If an organisation, take decision in favour of the organisation.

How do I decide when there’s too much information?

Give a deadline.