Decision making is one of the most crucial factors while running the business. To bring various innovations in managing the business every entrepreneur craves hard to make the best possible decisions. Hence, it is essential that every decision, no matter what is its perceived importance, must be made with the best intentions and the organization’s best interests.
While the principles might be same, but there are plenty of techniques and tools that can be used to make an effective decision. Here are the unexplored factors discussed which should be taken into consideration while making the best optimal choices. These secrets flawlessly combine problem-solving and decision-making strategies while making complex decisions in the challenging situations.
Make a Detailed Analysis of the Situation
Before one starts to make a decision, it is pivotal to have a deep-neck analysis of the situation. The main objective may be approached in the isolation, but it is more likely that there are a number of interrelated factors to consider which could make the change counter-productive.
Once the root cause is revealed, one should define the problem to extract more information and implement inductive reasoning to draw sound conclusions from the facts.
Generate the Finest Alternatives
As one explores wider options, it is more likely to reach a better final decision. Â Thus, generating a number of different options may seem to make the decision more complex at once, but this act of coming up with number of alternatives forces one to dig deeper and look at the problem from different aspects. In this way, one can implement a variety of creative thinking techniques which can assist to step out of the normal thinking patterns and generate truly innovative solutions.
Explore the Options
Once the realistic alternatives are gathered, it is the time to evaluate the feasibility, implications, and the risks related to every alternative. Almost every decision involves some degree of risk and for this purpose risk analysis is preferred to evaluate the probability of adverse events occurring and the overall cost to fix the issue.
Another way to evaluate the options is to consider the potential consequences of each of them. There are numerous tools available online that help to evaluate a decision’s significance from different outlooks. Other considerations include adequate resources and the solutions that best match to the objectives which will apparently make the decision work in a longer term. Also, cost-benefit analysis and financial forecasting can also calculate promising financial alternatives for the businesses.
Pick the Best Solution
The next step of evaluating the options is to select the best solution. If one particular alternative is better than the rest, then it is obvious to choose that alternative.
If the decision is being made in a group, there are a number of excellent tools and techniques which help to reach out to a better group decision. When anonymity is imperative, there may be some conflicts between the decision makers or there may be a tendency for certain individuals to dominate the process. To deal with this scenario, significant techniques can be implemented to reach to a fair and impartial decision. Such techniques use cycles of anonymous, written discussion and argument, and are managed by a facilitator. Also, the participants do not see each other and sometimes they don’t even know who else is involved.
Estimate the Plan
With all the efforts and hard work invested in evaluating and selecting the alternatives, it can be tempting to surge ahead at this stage. The final decision is as good as the facts and research; one has used to create it. Hence, it becomes mandatory to make sure that the information is trustworthy and genuine, which helps to avoid the confirmation bias which is usually termed as the psychological bias in decision making.
Evaluating the plan include the discussion of introductory conclusions with the important stakeholders who would spot the faults, make recommendations, and support the conclusions. Also one has to make a review whether the common decision-making problems like escalating commitment, over-confidence, or group thinking may have weakened the process. Also, checking the logical structure of the process makes sure that a well-founded and consistent decision emerges at the end.
Conveying the Decision & Acting Accordingly
Once the final decision is made, it needs to be communicated to everyone in an appealing and inspiring way. It can be implemented by involving the employees in discussing the whole process of the decision making. The more information one provides about the projected risks, the more likely people will be in support of the decision.
Making impulsive business decisions can either make or break a business. Altering business practices with incomplete knowledge can lead to the irreversible consequences. Down the line, not every decision has a positive or negative impact. Sometimes, looking in-between the lines prove to be beneficial for the organization. This is where having a strong management team or an additional expertise comes into the role. This expertise not only help an entrepreneur to analyze all sides of an issue but also improve the chances of making a keen business decision in the company’s best interest.