The Art of Decision-Making Winning with Good Decisions

By Julie Goh (2 Feb 2023)

Making decisions is what we need to do every day – be it big or small. From something as menial as deciding what to eat... to a life-changing decision if you should say “yes” to that marriage proposal.

When we make the right decision, we will lead a better life, be happier, more fulfilled. But can we be sure that all our decisions are the right ones? What does it take for us to make the right decision?

STEP 1 : Gather Information

Naturally, before you agree to marry someone, you would want to know the person well. You would also want to know about his background, his personality, his earning ability, his family…. In fact, you want to know everything (if possible) before making your decision. After all, you are planning to spend the rest of your life with this person.

The same applies in business as well. If we want to make the right decisions, we would want to have as much information as possible. We want to make an informed decision, especially if this decision will cost you money.

Such information should include internal, as well as external.

Wouldn’t you want to know what your friends think about the guy you are about to marry? You would also want to see how other people interact with him or behave when they are around him.

In business, wherever possible, you should check if other companies had the same problem and how they handled it, with what results.

STEP 2 : Weigh Your Options

When doing this, you should also consider the possible outcome of each option. Identify possible risks, the pros and cons.

By now, you would have in mind the most favourable outcome for the problem at hand.

(If your decision is made with only one option, this just means you have not been resourceful enough. It also means you have backed yourself into a corner with only one road ahead of you.)

STEP 3 : Identify Additional Resources

Consider if the options would require additional resources to accomplish. Do you have these resources now? Would you need to spend money to acquire these additional resources? Or are you able to source them internally? These resources could be equipment, manpower, skills, etc.

STEP 4 : Measurement

Before making that final decision, be sure to calculate the expected ROI (return on investment). It could be a monetary value, or in other forms – time, market base, increased efficiency, better customer satisfaction, etc. Put a number to your expected ROI so that you can compare it against the actual results when doing your post-mortem at a later stage.

Of course, the actual decision-making process depends on the problem you have. What I have outlined here is just the general framework. If you need more assistance on specific issues, do contact me directly via FB or through the HR Sifu program.

The author is an award-winning HR Sifu with Kakitangan.com, who has made significant improvements in how HR operates in multiple retail and high-volume/fast-paced companies. Complimentary consultation sessions with HR Sifu are available for all paying Kakitangan.com customers.

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