My daily upload in service of friends who want to be a better version of themselves

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Picture credit - ​Peter Pappas
Day 11 - Decision-Making Skill
20 April 2020
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Prabodh Sirur
sirurp@gmail.com
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What is Decision-Making Skill?
Decision-Making Skill is the ability to use a decision making process/ technique to arrive at
a decision.
How to improve Decision-Making Skill?
Set a goal to ​become a go-to person​ by mastering the art and science of Decision-Making.
Follow the ​LAST model​ to build your personal brand as a Guru of Decision-Making.
1. Learn - Invest time in learning different models/ techniques of Decision-Making
2. Apply -
a. Identify a model suitable to you
b. Create a template to document the flow of the process
c. Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
d. Maintain record/ process flow of every decision you make
e. Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used
for sharing/ training others
3. Share - Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social
media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
4. Train - Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over
time, your organization benefits from your efforts
My learning for the day
Source - ​Decision Tree Examples
Author - ​Silvia Valcheva
A decision tree is a visual representation of possible solutions to a decision. It uses a
tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences. Decision trees are a popular
tool these days in machine learning.
A decision tree consists of three types of nodes - Decision nodes – typically represented by
squares, Chance nodes – typically represented by circles, End nodes – typically represented
by triangles. The decision tree starts with a specific decision. This decision is depicted with
a box – the root node.
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Decision Tree Examples
Silvia Valcheva, the author of this article, has provided some wonderful examples. I
reproduce two of them here. Thanks Silvia.
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Enjoy the chaos that happens during decision making - ​a 90 seconds video from
QuestionPro​ Thanks #QuestionPro
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Purpose of this document
I took a 66 day challenge​ to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my astonishment,
I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives of learning these skills were - To strengthen my mind to face life’s challenges
with ease, To use these skills in my worklife for a better performance, To use these skills in
my personal life for enriching my relationships, To open new possibilities to surprise
myself.
This is my next 66 day challenge​ (from 10 April 2020) - To share my Life Skills learning
with my social media friends.
I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF​ defines Life skills as - ​psychosocial abilities​ for adaptive and positive behaviour
that enable individuals ​to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of
everyday life​. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories of skills
- cognitive skills​ for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills​ for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- inter-personal skills​ for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
Which LifeSkills are covered?
The​ ​World Health Organisation​ identified these basic areas of life skills that are relevant
across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
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Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated academia to
teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand - prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico - prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom - child abuse prevention
- USA - prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia - positive socialization of children.
Previous post on decision-making -
Approach to decision-making
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