Harvard Business Review has prepared a few tips for those, who want to take the most correct decisions.
Laziness. People do not find it necessary to double-check the facts, take the initiative, gather additional information, and verify the correctness or fallacy of their assumptions. On the part of the work of these people is estimated to be sloppy, they do not make the extra efforts, do not search a new: they rely on previous experience and think that it can always be extrapolated to the present and the future.
Inability to anticipate the unexpected. No one wants to suggest possible troubles all the time, and because most people knowingly think that nothing bad can happen. Unfortunately, bad things are happen, and quite often. People get divorced, die, and get into an accident. Markets collapse, housing prices fall, friends let down. One good study showed that people are quite able to anticipate problems, they would just sit down and think about what could go wrong. But the situation of taking decision is so exciting that most people do not even remember about this very natural precaution.
Indecision. Quite often there is need to take a difficult decision, in which a number of constantly changing factors, that drives people to the opposite extreme: they endlessly collect data, require to provide another report, to conduct another study before they dare to act. If the analyzes and reports are too tightened, the decision could not be taken on time, and as a result missed a valuable chance to succeed. You need courage, examining the available data, to estimate the possible consequences — and to go forward. Sometimes indecision is more expensive even wrong decisions. But if the manager thinks that one mistake could ruin his career, he carefully avoids the risk.
Attachment to the past. Some people make bad decisions, because they refer to all the same old data and methods. They are committed to the already well-developed approaches and do not intend to look for new ways. “The best is the enemy of the good”, - reasoned they. However, their decisions are often wrong, because the usual methods are based on the usual same - and is already obsolete - assumptions. This obvious fact is ignored: people go by a proven and familiar way and take wrong decisions.
Inconsistency of strategy. Sometimes the cause of a bad decision lies in the fact that the particular problem is not linked to an overall strategy. When there is no clear, defining the context strategy, it seems to fit many of the decisions at once. But if the decision is made in conjunction with well-defined strategy, it immediately becomes clear which of the alternatives is the best.
Excessive dependence. Sometimes the decision is not adopted, because the responsible officer was waiting for the green light from the side of his head, and the head - the guidance from above. For effective solutions it is required the ability to act autonomously.
Isolation. Some managers are forced to wait for instructions, because they do not bother just to clarify opinion of the parent or do not built a relationship that would allow them to draw on the experience of competent professionals. And our research, and many others make sure that the quality of decisions is largely dependent on the ability to engage in the process of people with the necessary knowledge, experience and competence. This idea is not new. But the question is why they are not included. Sometimes people lack the skills of networking and have nowhere else to turn for useful information. In other cases, they do not want to attract anyone to the glory arrogate to itself. Unfortunately, as a result, they just reap the benefits of poor decisions instead of fame.
Lack of technical knowledge. Modern organizations are arranged very difficult, and sometimes even the best managers do not have enough knowledge to understand the multifactorial problems. However, if the person taking the decision, had to rely on other people's knowledge and experience, and he does not even have a general presentation, then it is hard to process information and make decisions based on it. In the absence of basic knowledge and experience it is difficult to even judge, the saving will be the decision or failure. We always make sure that the great leaders certainly have wide knowledge in their field, and if they do not have enough knowledge to make an important decision, they are bound to find the right specialist.
Inability to accurately articulate “what, when, where and how”. Sometimes a good solution turns into a bad only because the staff did not really understand what was expected of them. Essential condition: the decision must be taken, and for this to explain its origins, and consequences, and details.
The prolonged wait for green light or “necessary information”. Inability to make sense of the data due to the lack of basic knowledge and skills. Inability to understand that the methods of the past are not suitable for the present day. The reluctance to take action without waiting for “the full information” will be collected. Inability to understand when you need to wait, and when not. That is how many reasons! And it is not surprising that good leaders make bad decisions. The path to the correct decision is narrow and tortuous. But if a manager take care of these traps, he will learn to take more effective and informed decisions.
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