Poor decisions are often about human frailty, not logic, situations, and information.
You’ll continue making poor decisions until you acknowledge the human-frailty-factor. More information doesn’t solve decision-fatigue, for example.
Decision fatigue:
The quality of decisions goes down as the day wears on if you are making many decisions. Research shows a parole board’s decisions dropped from 65% favorable to nearly 0% over a short time span of decision-making.
Human frailties cause poor decisions.
5 ways to deal with human frailty:
- Take breaks.
- Eat snacks.
- Stand and stretch.
- Go for a short walk.
- Take a nap.
7 decision-making tips:
#1. Decide what you want before reacting to a person or situation.
Decide where you want to go, before you begin the race.
#2. Don’t give yourself an escape hatch. If you create an escape hatch, you’ll use it.
#3. Forget the decision for a few minutes.
Sigal Barsade, leadership@wharton, demonstrates that a few minutes of meditation enables better decision-making.
- Breathe-in for a count of three.
- Hold it for a count of one.
- Breathe-out for a count of five.
Do the above for as little as two minutes. Now, make your decision.
#4. Be a learner more than a knower.
The belief that you’re an expert closes your mind. Read, “Rookie Smarts,” by Liz Wiseman.
#5. Determine the purpose and scope of the decision.
- What’s at stake?
- Who is impacted?
#6. Test your gut because intuition is often wrong. Read, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman.
#7. Forget sunk-cost.
You tend to continue a losing course of action because you’ve invested time, energy, or money. Sunk-cost should never be the reason you continue a losing course of action.
Best decision-making advice:
Learn and adapt as you go.
Best decision-making book:
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
What decision-making tips seem most important?
What decision-making suggestions might you add?