Convince or Commit: The best decision making strategy
Convince or Commit, This strategy has always helped me decide in a meeting conflicted by people holding opposing views.
In multiple meetings, it is common for two people to hold opposing opinions on a decision. When both parties believe their suggestions are correct, it is difficult to come to a decision. The same thing can be argued for hours without any substantial progress being made. The world of decision-making is rarely black and white; there are always gray areas to navigate. There is no right or wrong answer, and it is impossible to know who is right without trying.
If that situation arises, I abide by the rule “Convince or commit”.
It is best to convince someone to agree with your idea by backing it up with data first. If a point is not supported by data, then it is just a perspective, and it is very hard to convince someone based only on perspective. You should also allow another person to put his points forward. Using data to support your argument will help you decide between you and another person. Most discussions will end with a decision, and both parties will commit to it.
If both of you are still on different pages and unable to conclude on a decision, then choose any one decision (not randomly, there are ways to choose that as well, which I follow, two top examples of that are mentioned at the end of this thread). Suppose you accept the decision of the other person, then commit to it as if it were yours. Once you leave the meeting room, then the world should see you two as a team and must be convinced of that idea. Once you commit, you must own your decision. You may not be convinced, but you must own it. You can never say, “I told you so” or “I already told you it will not work”. You must defend every doubt and concern in the same manner, you would have defended your idea.
So commitment is very important in decision-making. It removes the ego problem from decision-making. This process also omits authoritative decision-making.
Way to choose one idea when both are not able to convince each other, which I follow:
1. Find the owner of that domain and choose his idea. Let’s say there is a discussion on what should be done with the product. The product should be owned by Product managers so in this case, it will be their final call. It gives your team an ownership feeling and makes them more mature in decision-making for the future.
2. If both people are from the same domain and you are not entirely against the other idea, then choose the other person’s idea. It helps you in growing your team. This will be the case most of the time when you are not entirely against another’s idea and know that his idea will also work but just that you are more convinced with your idea.
Please feel free to add your points in the comments on what you do in these scenarios or what process you follow.
