/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. BLR’s Training Presentations Effective Decision-Making Strategies

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Goals Recognize the importance of making good decisions on the job Understand the decision-making process Be able to make more effective decisions, even under pressure

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. What Is a Decision? Choice Determination Purposeful Results-oriented

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Types of Decisions Yes/no decisions Choice among options decisions Best-available- evidence decisions Serial decisions

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. All Decisions Are Not Equal Important/insignificant Time-bound/open-ended Objects/people Individual/group Departmental/ organizational

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Define the Decision Your decision? What is the key issue? When must it be made? Why/how is it important? Who will be affected?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Generate Possible Options Give yourself time to think Draw from your experience Make a list of your options Don’t exclude any possibilities

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Get All the Facts Gather pertinent information Ask questions Don’t take anything at face value Talk to someone who’s been there

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Evaluate and Eliminate Weigh the pros and cons Balance cost against benefit How many options do you have left?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Consider the Consequences Do you like what you see? What could go wrong? What is the short-term gain? What is the long-term gain? Are you ready to make a decision?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Time for a Reality Check Which option is most likely to happen? Cross off the least likely Do you have more than one option left?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Look for the Best ‘Fit’ Review remaining alternatives Which best fits the situation? Which best fits your comfort level? This is your best decision

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Take the Leap Don’t second-guess Act with confidence Remember, you can change your mind

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Monitor and Review Is it turning out as you expected? Are you satisfied with the outcome? Do you need to make adjustments? Do you need to make a new decision?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Make a New Decision (If Necessary) Review the situation Use what you’ve learned Take another look at your options Make a better decision

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Common Decision-Making Mistakes Relying on only one source of information Over/underestimating the value of information Turning a blind eye Ignoring gut feelings

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Questions to Ask Before Making a Decision Is the situation clear? Do you have to decide now? Do you need help? Are you oversimplifying or overcomplicating? Do you have enough information? Are your sources credible?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Questions to Ask (cont.) Have you distinguished between the relevant and irrelevant? Have you made any assumptions? Have you made connections? Are you being realistic? Have you considered all your options? Have you considered consequences? Are you ready to make a decision?

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Team Decision Making Consensus Majority vote Committee recommendation

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Team Decision Making (cont.) Decision by leader Recommendation by outside experts Brainstorming

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Brainstorming Decisions State the issue Set a time limit Generate decision options Write down all ideas Don’t judge or criticize

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Brainstorming (cont.) Build on others’ ideas Combine options Eliminate impractical ideas Pick the top five Select the best idea and an alternate

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Decision-Making Do’s Clarify the issues Generate as many options as possible Get all the facts Evaluate your options carefully Consider the consequences Look for a good fit

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Decision-Making Don’ts Don’t rush Don’t forget to consult others Don’t exclude possibilities too soon Don’t take information at face value Don’t be afraid to use your intuition Don’t hesitate to revise your decision if necessary

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Goals Recognize the importance of making good decisions on the job Understand the decision-making process Be able to make more effective decisions, even under pressure

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Summary The decisions you make on the job have a broad impact, affecting many people and operations Your decisions determine how well employees function and how satisfied they are with their jobs Your decisions also shape your future in management Use the strategies you’ve learned today to make the best possible decisions every day

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz 1.Identify two elements involved in defining a decision. 2.With most decisions you really only have a couple of viable options from which to choose. True or False 3.Identify two effective methods for evaluating and eliminating options to reach a final decision. 4.Once you’ve made a decision, it is in fate’s hands. There’s nothing further you can do. True or False 5. Name two common mistakes people make when making decisions.

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz (cont.) 6.Identify three ways teams make decisions. 7.The brainstorming technique is for problem solving and has little application to decision making. True or False 8.Identify three things you should definitely do when making a decision. 9.Identify three things you should definitely not do when making a decision.

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz (cont.) 10.The decision-making process described in this training session only works when you have lots of time to make a decision.True or False

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers 1.When defining a decision, you must determine whether the decision is really yours to make, what the key issue is, when it must be made, why/how it is important, and who will be affected. 2.False. With most decisions you have many options, although some might not be obvious at first glance. 3.You can successfully evaluate and eliminate options by weighing their pros and cons or by performing a simple cost-benefit analysis.

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 4.False. You can monitor the outcome and make sure things turn out as expected. If not, you can make adjustments—or even a whole new decision, if necessary. 5. Common decision-making mistakes include relying on only one source of information, over/underestimating the value of information, turning a blind eye, and ignoring gut feelings.

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 6.Teams can make decisions in various ways, including by consensus, by majority vote, by committee recommendation, by brainstorming, or with the help of outside experts. Decisions can also be made by the team leader acting with or without the advice of the team. 7.False. Decision making is closely related to problem solving. Brainstorming either alone or in a group can be used effectively to make decisions, too.

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 8.Effective decision-making do’s include: clarify the issues, generate as many options as possible, get all the facts, evaluate your options carefully, consider the consequences, and look for a good fit. 9.Decision-making don’ts include: don’t rush, don’t forget to consult others, don’t exclude possibilities too early in the process, don’t take information at face value, don’t be afraid to use your intuition, and don’t hesitate to revise your decision if it doesn’t work out at first.

/0604 © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 10. False. It’s always nice to have plenty of time to make a decision, but the steps described today work equally well whether you have days, hours, or only minutes to make a decision.