5 Ways to Make Effective Decisions

Being more productive and performing at a higher level requires mastering several skills. One of the most important is effective decision making. Here are a few pointers you might find helpful:

Make sure you've got the facts

You wouldn't dive into a pool of water without first knowing the depth, so it's wise not to jump into a quick decision before gathering a little background data. Who? What? Where? When? How? Asking a few of these types of questions can help in gathering the info you need to make a good decision.

Think outcome -- from the outset

A good place to give some thought to the desired outcome of a situation is before a final decision is made. When faced with a problem, think about the best case scenario for the outcome and try to work toward that end as you process through the issue(s),

Choose advisors wisely

Be careful not to allow yourself to be overly influenced by another's perspective on the issue. While it's important to get feedback from others, be discerning with regard to personal agendas that may be involved.

Develop a decision making model

Create a model by which you make all key decisions and stick by it as various challenges avail themselves.  Making key decisions the same way every time will improve the quality of the decision immensely.

Track the results

On all key decisions, carefully monitor the results to make sure the decision was sound. Closely monitoring a decision allows you to make timely adjustments. It will also afford you the opportunity to study the effectiveness of your process and apply those lessons to future decisions.