Decision Making Techniques

How to Make Good Decisions

	Play this video for our quick guide to these resources.

Good decision making is an essential skill for career success generally, and effective leadership particularly. If you can learn to make timely and well-considered decisions, then you can often lead your team to spectacular and well-deserved success. However, if you make poor decisions, your team risks failure and your time as a leader will, most likely, be brutally short.

The techniques in this section help you to make the best decisions possible with the information you have available. These tools help you map out the likely consequences of decisions, work out the importance of individual factors and choose the best course of action to take.

These techniques build on the tools discussed in the section on Problem Solving Tools, in that Decision Making follows on from an understanding of the situation. The section on Creativity Tools will help you to explore what alternatives that are open to you.

Do remember, though, that the tools in this chapter exist only to assist your intelligence and common sense. These are your most important assets in good Decision Making.

	Decision Making Techniques - Start Here!
	Pareto Analysis - Choosing what to change
	Paired Comparison Analysis - Working out the relative importance of different options
	Grid Analysis - Making a choice taking into account many factors
	PMI - Weighing the pros and cons of a decision
	Force Field Analysis - Analyzing the pressures for and against change
	Six Thinking Hats - Looking at a decision from different perspectives
	Starbursting - Understanding options better by brainstorming questions
	Stepladder Technique - Making better group decisions
	Cost/Benefit Analysis - Seeing whether a decision makes financial sense
	Cash Flow Forecasting with Spreadsheets - Analyzing whether an idea is financially viable
	Decision Trees - Choosing by valuing different options
Career Excellence Club Member Tools: (How to become a member)
	Decision Making Under Uncertainty - Making the best choice with the information available
	Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) - Choosing the best strategic way forward
	The Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model - Deciding how to decide
	What Are Your Values? - Deciding what's most important in life
	Monte Carlo Analysis - Bringing uncertainty and risk into forecasting
	Linear Programming - Optimizing your limited resources
	Critical Thinking - Develop the skills for successful thinking
	Impact Analysis - Identifying the "unexpected" consequences of a decision
	The Ladder of Inference - Avoiding "jumping to conclusions"
	Blindspot Analysis - Avoiding common 'fatal flaws' in decision making
	The Kepner-Tregoe Matrix - Making unbiased, risk assessed decisions
	Nominal Group Technique - Prioritizing issues and projects to achieve consensus
	The Delphi Technique - Achieving well thought through consensus among experts
	Avoiding Groupthink - Avoiding fatal flaws in group decision making
	Reactive Decision Making - Making good decisions under pressure
	Spiral Dynamics - Understanding how people's values may affect their decision making
	Are You a 'Cautious' or 'Courageous' Decision Maker? - Understand your risk profile and make better decisions
	Multi-Voting - Choosing fairly between many options
Next steps:
	Download the Decision Making Section - download the public articles in the Mind Tools Decision Making section in PDF format. Print or store on your PC to review at your leisure.
	Subscribe to our FREE eNewsletter - discover new career skills every two weeks AND receive our Guide to Group Decision Making worth US$9.99 FREE when you subscribe. Subscribe here, and download now!
	Join the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club - benefit your life and career with online access to skills training, resources, coaching and support from professional trainers and our unique community. Download the “Career Booster” workbook plus 3 others FREE (worth US$121), when you sign up at our special introductory rate! Click here to find out more.

In the first of these articles, we look at how these tools fit together. To read this, click 'Next article' below. Other relevant destinations are shown in the "Extension Resources" list underneath.

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		Download and Print		Next article

Extension Resources (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)

Dynamics of Decision Making - Making better and more consistent decisions
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) - Choosing by weighing up many subjective factors
Risk Analysis - Evaluating the risks that you face
Organizing Team decision-making - Reaching consensus for better decisions
The Foursquare Protocol - Learning to manage ethical decisions
Mind Tools Stress Management Web site - deal with job-related stress with our range of self-help and support resources.
Tool/Resource Finder - Explore every Mind Tools article by skill area, in list format

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