Making Decisions the Right Way

Decision Making, or problem-solving, can be regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities.

Or in layman's terms: How to fix a problem the quickest and best way. 

An article from JL Talley & Associates (Bloomingdales) made a very great point:

Most of us, most of the time...

When faced with tough choices, we focus on making the right choice, 

not making the choice in the right way.

I think he's on to something. When thinking about how I deal with decision making myself; I've noticed that I primarily focus more on the decision, and rarely assess how I get to that decision. 

There are many challenges with decision making. Here are some of the most common:

Failure to properly understand the problem

Common-sense based decisions

Incorrect Information/ poor strategizing 

Declining responsibility, or passing off responsibility

Decision making can be very daunting because no person wants to be seen as a failure. Instead of focusing on making the wrong decision, there are many opportunities to make a choice in the right way. 

For instance, Instead of looking at decision problems,  it can be turned into a positive light. Every problem, as long as it's properly perceived, can become an opportunity.  A Pessimist see the difficulty is every opportunity, but an optimist finds opportunity in every problem.

Many problems can be solved with the mix of strategic thinking and past experiences. In most cases, it is the small decisions that effect the larger outcomes. When things go wrong, one must first discover the cause before being able to find the solution. 

Lastly the following are 7 possible steps to consider when making decisions correctly:

1. Value and the Objective: Make sure the values are conveyed by actions in order properly fulfill     the full range of objectives. 
2.  Set of Actions: Consider a wide range of possible courses of actions and their alternatives. 
3. Evaluate the Consequences: carefully weigh the pros and cons
4. Gather Information: Search for information that is relevant to the set of actions. Explicit, explained in structured form, and tacit, information explained inconsistently, are the two classifications of information. It is very important to gather reliable information.  
5. Information Processing: Take account the information that is gathered and make sure it supports the action preferred.
6. Action Assessment: Take another look at positive and negative consequences of the known alternatives before making a final decision.
7. Implementation of the Decision: Make detailed provisions for implanting and executing the chosen course of action. Make sure to include contingency plans for the known risks and adjustments.  

http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/opre640/partXIII.htm#rhowtoavoid

http://www.jltalley.com/presentations/Decision%20Making.pdf