Have a business decision making problem?

On the face of it, making a decision is easy. You just do it.

Go on, make one.

I dare you.

But making a series of quick but poor decisions is going to trip you up on your path to getting where you are going.

This explains one half of the decision making problem: unless you know where you are headed, it is impossible to make good decisions. No matter how decisive you are, a lack of clear vision will certainly hinder progress.

Indecision is its opposite number. Long, protracted research that gets to a decision too late or usurps too much personal energy or resources is time wasted or horses bolted you can’t get back.

I will leave you to imagine the consequences of never coming to a decision.

Here are my Five Factors to Making Decisions that Get You Where You Need to Be.

1. If you don’t know where you are trying to get to, no business decision making process can help you get there

Setting goals is critical. Little ones and big ones and short, long and medium term compass points are all useful, but don’t labour unnecessarily. Work out before all else what you want to make happen or where you want and need to be.

2. Establish some criteria against which you can check your intuition and research

This can be very informal or detailed, depending on what’s required. It may be as simple as ‘tall, dark and handsome’ etched into the back of your mind or more complex – perhaps a check list or a financial goal and time frame or a detailed mental picture of how you see your future, your organisation’s or family’s or department’s or football team’s. Scientific and bound in triplicate or scribbled on a scrap of paper in the back of a taxi makes no difference to the quality of the decision or to the outcome.

3. Gather the information you need to make the decision

This might take seconds or months and obviously depends on the circumstances. A fair rule of thumb is the more important the decision, the more checks against the list the better. Or the reverse. Never underestimate instinct. Research could involve shoe leather, search engines, hiring consultants, emotional stirrings, asking amongst your cohort or that of your target. See a trend? Got a pretty good match? A fair idea of how to proceed? Enough research already. Get on with it.

4. Examine the consequences of the different options and of not making a decision at all

Factor opportunity cost in heavily. Regret is poison. The rule of thumb here is simple and critical – how will this decision help me to get where I need to be?

5. Decide!

If you've gone through the first four steps, you'll find this is the easy part.

Are you able to take decisive action? Or are you a dithering procrastinator? Tell us via the comments form below.