Decision Making

Goals and Objectives

Refer to your existing Goals and Objectives or create them to give you a point of reference in decision making.

·         What are we trying to achieve?

·         What are we trying to preserve?

·         What are we trying to avoid?

·         What are we trying to eliminate?

 More Goals and Objectives Questions

·         What would things look like if they were going right?

·         What would be happening that isn't?

·         What wouldn't be happening that is?

·         What do we want we don't have? What are we trying to achieve?

·         What do we have we don't want? What are we trying to eliminate?

·         What do we not have that we don't want? What are we trying to avoid?

·         What do we have that we want to keep? What are we trying to preserve? What results are we after?

·         What will serve as evidence of success? Failure?

·         How will we know the problem is solved?

·         What is the "should be"? Who says?

 Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem

Many alternative solutions should emerge in the process. In fact it is helpful to have as many alternatives as possible. This process may be time consuming and sometime exhausting but it is absolutely necessary.

a. At this point, it's useful to keep others involved (unless you're facing a personal and/or employee performance problem). Use problem solving tools and techniques such as Brainstorm for solutions to the problem. (A good set of skills used to identify the underlying cause of issues is Systems Thinking.)

Apply action possibilities to the goals set in Step 2. Some goals may have to be eliminated because they are unrealistic. Others may have to be modified. Some can be achieved. Be specific in defining the possible solutions. Try to be creative when considering options. Develop some really crazy ones just to get your mind stimulated. Mix and match various ideas just to see where they lead. All the historic problem solvers from Archimedes to Einstein have been noted for their feats of bringing to bear, on difficult problems, concepts and principles from apparently disparate fields of knowledge.

More questions

·         What are our options?

·         What are their costs? What are their benefits?

·         What are their side effects?

·         How do we decide? How long do we have to decide?

·         Do we have our egos out of this?

·         What are our restraints and constraints?

·         What are all the things we must do?

·         What are all the things we can't do?

·         Who says? Are they real or imagined?

·         What are we assuming? What are we overlooking?

·         Can we get there from here?

·         What has to give? Resources? Results? Time? Money?

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Consider the Possible Consequences

What might happen if I put these options into practice?

 Consider the consequences of taking certain steps. Imagine and consider how others might respond if they faced a similar situation. Make realistic assessments and do not avoid painful answers. Write down the consequences and face them no matter how difficult that might be in the first instance. It is possible to make considerable progress once reality is confronted. Strength can be drawn from reality. Evaluate the pros and cons. Rehearse strategies and behaviours by means of creative imagination.