This is the final chapter of the decision making mini-blog series. I thought we’d finish with some final insights.

Tip #1-It’s easier to reverse or recover from an individual decision than it is a group decision.

Tip #2-There is a difference in the process of making the same kind of decision many times (payables, hiring, etc.) than the process of making a particular decision once or only a few times over a period (reorganization, market expansion).

Tip #3-Assess the noise. All decisions are impacted to some degree by random unexpected “noise”. The noise can cloud your assessment regarding the quality of the decision. The noise will average out for same/similar repeatable decisions and likely not be a factor in assessing the quality of the decisions. Randomness, however, has far greater impact on assessing the quality of the bigger less seldom made decisions. Don’t take credit or excuse failure based on chance.

Tip #4-Reflection is a pillar for organizational learning. Apply scientific thinking to assessing and improving your decision-making skills for repeated decisions:

• What did I expect (hypothesis)
• What were the results (outcome)
• What didn’t I know (learning)

Tip #5-Be cautious of “decision bias”. What you believe (think) will determine how you behave and subsequently the results. If you believe strongly in the decision, you may work harder or assign more resources than as expected to get an even better and/or quicker result. A desirable outcome but based on the extraordinary effort and not necessarily the quality of the decision.

I encourage adopting at least one idea or tip in the last 3  blogs that will help you make better and quicker decisions.