Your team always makes the right decision*
"You'll always make the right decision based on the info you have and your interpretation of that information." Photo by Tim Graf - Unsplash
As long ago as the 90s when I was rocking a flat top and at high school, I can remember using this phrase:
"You will always make the right decision - based on the information you have and your interpretation of that information"
While I'm still not sure if that's 100% true, I do find that it's useful. It helps in a few ways.
Firstly, it helps to move beyond paralysis by analysis. Rarely are we short of information - the problem often is that we have too much. At some point, we can decide if we have enough information to proceed (rather than all of the information) and then make a decision based on that.
Secondly, it helps us to learn from the decisions that we have made in the past. If things don't turn out as we expected, it's likely to be either a function of not having the right information at the time or misinterpreting the information that we did have. Neither of those is a reason to beat ourselves up. Instead we can use it as an opportunity to improve our decision making in the future.
Thirdly, it helps us to change our mind. Using this assumption, it makes complete sense that we would change our mind if we either get new information or we interpret that information in a new way. It allows us to not get locked into a course of action because of a previous decision.
If you an foster this sort of approach in your teams, it will help you to manage the paradox between being decisive enough to act and flexible enough to learn and adapt.
Here are a couple of questions for you to consider this week. Reflect on a decision that your team has made and consider:
Has any relevant information changed?
Is there any reason for us to reconsider our interpretation of that information?
Would it serve us to change our mind?
* A useful assumption, not necessarily true