Good decision making has always been one of the essential management skills. They key to good decision making is understanding the preconceived notions, following a structured process, and taking an all-inclusive holistic approach.  This Transformation Tuesday, let us look at the ways and means to follow so that managers can make better decisions:

Identify the decision

Define the decision that you need to make. This is the most important step of the process. One needs to clearly define the first step.

Gather related information

Collect information related to the decision. Identify what information is needed, what is the best source for that information and how to get it? This step involves all the internal as well as external help. 

Define the alternate solutions

In the process of information gathering you will get to know the other possible ways and means. You can also think more creatively to construct new ways and means. 

Evaluate the evidence

On the basis on the information, you collected think what it would be like if you carried out each of the options till the end. Assess whether the need identified in Step 1 would be met or determined using each of the options. As you go through this internal process, you will begin to support certain alternatives: those that seem to have a higher chance of reaching the goal. Finally, keep the options in priority order, based on your own evaluation.

Pick among options

Once you assess all the options, you are ready to pick the best possible option. You can also choose a combination of the available options. What you pick in this step will be similar to the top priority that you decided at the end of the previous step.

Implementation

Now that you have shortlisted the best possible option, you will be up for the implementation process. Take action to implement the plan.

Follow Up

In this final step, evaluate the results of your decision and check if all the needs identified in the first step have been answered and resolved. If the needs have not been met you will have to start the process again from the first step. For example, you may want to gather more information.  

Thus, using a step-by-step decision making process can help organizations make better decisions and it is a skill that you need to work on.

Written & Compiled by Faber Mayuri

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