Decisions—Make Them Hassle-Free

Q. I’m getting some subtle, troublesome messages from my co-workers. They seem impatient because I like to take my time to make a decision, and are starting to joke that I “can’t keep up.” Any suggestions? —Helen T.

A. Ask yourself, “Are my decisions typically better than those others around me make, because I’m more thorough?” If so, you probably shouldn’t try to change anything but your co-workers’ perception of you. But if your ideas and decisions are about as good as everyone else’s, maybe you should consider some ways to make good decisions faster.

First, ask some basic questions when you make any decision:

• Are we the right people to make this decision? (Maybe this decision is better made in another department—where it will have more impact. Or maybe it should be made at a higher or lower level in the company.)

• Is it important to make this decision—especially now? (What are the likely consequences of this decision? What would happen if we took more time to get more facts? Are we in a “Ready—Fire—Aim” mindset?)

• Can we implement the results of this decision ( Do we have the time to do it right? Has enough money been allocated to carry out the decision successfully? Are the right people in place—and ready—to carry out the actions needed? Is the right equipment on hand to provide the support needed?

• What’s the payoff? Why is it important, and to whom? Is it the right payoff? Have we looked at all the possible negative consequences?

If the answers to these questions make sense, go ahead. If not, raise these key questions with others involved—or at least with your boss—and explain your thinking. This way you present yourself as a careful, thoughtful decision-maker—one who looks at all the options, and isn’t easily swayed by groupthink.

Next, put yourself in an environment where you can focus on the decision process and be effective as well as efficient. Some suggestions:

• Set enough time aside to focus on the problem. You may have to budget time each week to stay productive. Work on decisions when you're at your best—not at the end of the day when you’re tired. Control interruptions, and quietly think about the larger issues; break these down into smaller decisions.

• Focus on actions and consequences with the most payoff. Talk with others and, if necessary, redefine the problem statement. Set a deadline to finish the decision, and treat the time you have to invest in it as another time-driven customer request.

• Establish deadlines for benchmark progress points. Avoid the activity trap--focus on results, not actions. Make sure you know what you want to happen.

Use Decision-Making Tools

See if you can discover several ways to solve the problem, and use problem-solving and decision-making tools to manage the data you need to make the decision. Examples:

• brainstorming

• “brainwriting”

• affinity diagram

•  force-field diagram

• cause and effect (fishbone) diagram

• Pareto chart

• sequence flow chart

• run chart

• bar and line charts.

Don’t be intimidated by this list. Most of the tools are easy to use, and once you learn how well they work, you’ll cut decision-making time significantly. (A good source for decision-making tools is Continuous Improvement Tools, Vol. 1&2, published by Richard Chang Associates, Inc. in Irvine, California— (800) 756-8096.

Once you’ve organized and analyzed the data, it’s time to set some deadlines, and force yourself to decide within that deadline. If you’re a procrastinator, this may not work, and you might have to remove yourself from decision-making responsibility. Or you can change your habit of procrastinating. Today, the world is moving at warp speed, and we have to move with it or get run over. So it comes down to your willingness to make decisions faster, knowing that you won’t always have all the information you need.

Does It Feel Right?

Until now, you’ve been using the analytical, logical, left-brain approach to the decision.

A key piece in the final decision is feeling that the decision you’ve made is the right one. (I made a bad decision several years ago, by selling my lakefront property when I did. All the analytical tools I used showed overwhelmingly that I should sell it, so I did, but didn’t feel good about it. Six months later, I regretted the decision. And two years later, the property was worth three times what I sold it for, and eight times what I paid for it.) If the decision doesn’t feel right, check your data—and your thinking—again. You may have overlooked something that could haunt you later.