The Secret to Making Better Decisions

Weeds. They are everywhere this time of year.

My wife and I moved into a home with a lot of grass in the fall. We didn’t think anything of it until spring when weeds came up like an unstoppable rebel force.

I jumped straight for the mower to solve the problem. This helped… until they doubled in number and laughed in our teary faces.

I asked some experts who had experience dealing with such evil and they told me about weed and feed. Kill them at the root = problem solved. The weeds were wilting in no time as I stood proud amongst the defeated army of yellow jerk faces.

3 Simple Steps For Better Decisions

Buy a home or rent? Get a new car? Should I get married or not? What career should I choose? Big or small, we make hundreds of decisions daily. Here are the 3 simple steps to get much better results and become a decision making PRO:

PAUSE

Problems are LOUD!!! Screaming at us. We want to quiet them, so we jump to immediate solutions (i.e. lawnmower). Resist the urge. Pause.

ROOT

Sakichi Toyoda implemented a simple tool at Toyota to improve production lines which enabled them to blow away their competition called the “5 Whys”.

Example: “My feet hurt!!!”

Urge: “Buy a foot massager!”

PAUSE

Why? — “Because they do, ok?”
Why? — “Because I walk around all day, and these shoes are uncomfortable”
Why? — “Because they are tight on my feet”
Why? — “They are too small for me”
Why? — “I have out grown them”

The root cause of the problem is clear. Now we can solve it.

OPTIONS

Therese Huston, PhD in Psychology from Carnegy Mellon recently wrote the book, “How Women Decide: What’s True, What’s Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices.”

Most people make decisions with only 1 option. Dr. Huston suggests that when you have multiple options (at least 3) you increase your odds of making a better decision significantly.

Do I buy looser laces for my shoes? (1 option)

Add more options and increase your odds of success.

Do I buy looser laces for my shoes? or
Do I buy a buy a new pair of comfortable shoes? or
Do I get a new job so I don’t have to walk around all day?

Conclusion

Creativity and design are all about solving problems. Before you jump with a lawn mower solution, remember these steps and become a decision making PRO.