Laws for Making Good Decisions

(Continued from Last Post)

From Good Decision Makers
Author, Charles Foster, PhD
The Chestnut Hill Institute

Focus on the most important thing.
This seems obvious, but it is the decision-making principle that is most often violated. In every decision, one factor usually is the most important. Concentrate on that element, forgetting all other considerations. Once you’re focused only on what’s most important, the odds are you’ll make the right decision. Everything else is a detail.

Turn big decisions into a series of little decisions.
Some decisions appear overwhelming. You want to focus on what’s most important, but there are so many unknowns that your focus gets blurred. So, make all the little decisions first, and the big decision will essentially be made.

Base your decision on self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance covers a lot of ground…Here are three areas to include:
What you like.
What you’re interested in.
What you’re good at.

Any decision based on who you really are, how you really work, what you really like will probably work out. Ask yourself what you really like and what makes you comfortable. If the decision won’t add to your feeling of comfort, it probably would prove to be a bad decision.

Consider all the good things your decision can bring.
Decision making is, for many people, an exercise in disaster avoidance. Instead of making the decision that might cause something wonderful to happen, we often make the decision we hope will hurt us (and others) the least.

The decision making process must be fueled by the possibility that your decision will lead to something wonderful, a new career, a stronger marriage, etc. Keep reworking the decision until you see it leading to something wonderful. If you rework the decision and nothing wonderful emerges, you risk making the wrong decision.

Get what you need to make your decision a success.
Especially in business, this rule gets broken again and again. A meeting ends with the decision to do such-and-such, but no plans are made to implement the decision.

If there is no passion to implement the decision…or if you know in advance that the resources you need won’t be available…you haven’t decided anything. It is window dressing meant to satisfy someone’s ego or to be included in a report to show your department is on the ball. Start with how you’re going to implement your decision and work backward.

Keep things as simple as possible.
Even smart people break this law. Because they see the big picture, they want the decision to cover every issue that might arise. They draft plans so that no possibility is overlooked.

Example: The more things that can go wrong, the more things that probably will go wrong. Keep the number of things that must go right for the decision to succeed to an absolute minimum. Venture capitalists are justifiably wary of overly complicated plans for a new business. Business plans that are easy to grasp are the ones that are most likely to get funding.

Consider all your options.
I have never met a decision maker (good or bad) who had checked out all possible options. Invariably, I could come up with options they never considered.

Don’t assume you know everything there is to know to make a good decision. Talk to people who are more experienced about the subject than you are. Ask what they would consider when making the same decision. Not only will they present you with new options, their insights could completely change the way you think about the decision.


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