It has been refreshing to read a well-written book for some time. Decisive will take its place in my top books. Let’s review it.
Over time, I started to dislike one thing in my decision-making journey: feeling stuck in binary choices. And time after time, I benefited more from the “AND” than the “OR” decisions. When people consulted me for their problems, I often saw this same problem in their decisions too. Seeing a book that starts with this same solution – Widen your options – hooked me to the book as I wondered how I could improve my decision-making journey.
We often narrow our frame to two options and limit our problem-solving. Choose this or the other, do this or the other, like this or the other… Widening our options can bring much better solutions w/o big compromises. But how do you widen your options? Many ways that could help. Imagine that your options have vanished, and force yourself to find a different option. Or talk to other people who went through similar experiences. Check out other fields.
Now you know how to widen your options, but what about being biased over the information that confirms your beliefs? It is called confirmation bias. How can you reality-check your assumptions while widening your options, so you don’t ignore alternatives? Ask disconfirming questions that reveal the sides you don’t like to hear. Talk to experts and get baseline rates, like the reviews on Amazon products. If unsure, quickly experiment with different ideas and see which is better rather than predicting the future. Have a promotion and prevention mindset and alternate between them.
Good, now you have reality-checked your options and assumptions. But you are still confused because several options look good to you. And you are dealing with short-term visceral emotions. On top of that, others are pressuring you to choose their favorite option. Now it is time to attain some distance from the problem. Imagine what your predecessor would do. Or imagine how you would advise your friend in a similar situation. Or use the 10/10/10 rule, which tells you how you would feel ten minutes, ten months, and ten years after making the decision. You should feel much more confident and relieved now as you put things on a much grander scale.
Very well, now you made a choice, but how do you know if it is still the right choice? What if you were wrong? Once you have made a choice, you are now operating with an auto-pilot mind, which executes the plan/decision w/o much reassessment. The simplest solution is to do bookending. It is to put tripwires at the two ends of the scale and be notified when things need reassessment. For instance, you changed jobs with an expectation of a promotion. Your tripwire could be a promotion after 12 months. And if you don’t get it by then, check your plan. Think of the other end of the book shelve. What if you get promoted twice in 12 months? This can be another tripwire, as you might need to be prepared for it.