Decision making skills are critical for entrepreneurs, managers and leaders, and it can literally make the difference between success and failure. Decision taking also entails risk as you might be selecting the wrong option, leading to many managers being afraid to take any decisions, with indecision having negative consequences for the business. But how do you make decisions? Do you use intuition or do you use your rational brain, or combination of the two? There are a large number of different disciplines, including psychology, consumer behavior and behavioral economics that provide principles and guidelines for successful decision making.
Taking effective decisions are critical to reaching your business goals. To take effective decisions you firstly have to understand the objectives of your decisions. Also, to understand who has to take the decision, and the context in which the decisions have to be made. Most of us also have significant cognitive biases that influence our decision making, and we have to understand these and develop strategies to not let them affect us negatively. Some decisions are made individually, and some in groups, and we also have to understand who the stakeholders are that are involved in decision making and affected by it. Normally we generate alternatives for a decision and then assess those alternatives, and then through a process make a final decision. Obviously, once the decision has been taken, it has to be communicated to all stakeholders and then the decision also has to be put into action. On this page, you will find a few resources that could help you to make better and more effective decisions.
