This document discusses decision making and different types of decisions. It defines a decision as "the act of making up your mind about something" and can range from simple to complex. Decisions are categorized as good, bad, or incorrect based on their outcome - a good decision leads to an optimal result, an incorrect decision leads to an average result, and a bad decision leads to failure. The document emphasizes that every decision requires follow up decisions to achieve the intended outcome, and that decisions are influenced by many personal and external factors. It provides examples of impactful decisions made by famous individuals and concludes that the value of a decision depends not on its outcome but on the depth of thought put into it.

1. Decision Dilemmas
Nabarun Paul
Technical Writer
Saturday, October 27, 2012 1

2. All about making and taking a decision
• Decision: The act of making up your mind about something.
• This can be an opinion about somebody or something.
» Opinion is not judgment - Opinions assist in judgment.
• Decide to do something
» To Decide to do something also means to decide not to do
something.
Example: I decide to start my day early. Meaning, I decide I will
not wake up late. It also means that I decide to sleep early…and
so on…
Example: We have to decide on which car to buy, where to invest,
where to construct house, and so on…
• Decisions can vary from simple ones to complicated and serious
decisions.
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3. Types of Decision
• Good Decision
• Bad Decision
• Incorrect Decision
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4. What is the difference?
• Optimal Result – Good Decision
• Average Result – Incorrect Decision
• Failed – Bad Decision
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5. Case study – Starting a Venture
• Decision to Start a business - Good decision, can be incorrect or bad
decision
• Decision to quit Job - Good decision, can be Incorrect or Bad decision
• Optimal Result - Good Decision – If the business grows and
becomes profitable.
• Average Result - Incorrect Decision – if growth becomes stagnant
and eventually stops
• Failed - Bad Decision - Would have been, if….
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6. What it means?
• Every Decision taken will need another decision to achieve the
previous decision: It’s a series of decisions!
– The business cannot start unless the founders quit their jobs
– The business cannot grow unless the founders focus all their
energies towards making it work, after quitting their jobs
– The decision to quit the job can become an incorrect decision
unless the founders start growing the team and start
delegating: Thereby growing the business - Their first
unanimous decision.
Conclusion: The decision to start a business, quit the job is a
personal decision, that decision can have a positive impact on
millions and keep growing the benefits.
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7. Examples of some famous decisions
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi decided that India was to be freed from the
Queens rule. Not that he was the only one, there were many but his means to
buy (decision - Gandhigiri) freedom was different and shameful for the British,
that they had to quit.
• Dhirubhai Ambani – wanted to create wealth and he did, not only for himself
but for all
• Larry Page & Sergey Brin wanted to collect and make available the entire
information available in the universe. Their college project -Pagerank resulted
in Google – literally replacing the Oxford dictionary.
• Steve Jobs decided he was wasting his time in college studying subjects that did
not inspire him, so he dropped out and took up a calligraphy course
– Result – Apple Inc - Mac PC, iPod, iPhone, Pixar studios and the numerous
creations that has changed the way we live
• Bill Gates decided to drop out from college to do more of what he liked doing
– Result – Microsoft – his decision opened Windows for us to see the world.
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8. What if?
• Would it have been a bad decision? May be
• Would it have been a incorrect decision? May be
• So, there are pros and cons to every decision we make and
take….like a coin has two sides.
Whichever side we look, will not take away the value from the coin.
Similarly; a decision, whatever the result be -Optimal, Average or
Failed; will never take away the value from the decision.
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9. Value
• It’s the depth of the decision
– Why it was taken – Purpose;
– When it was taken –Time (it’s not about the time of the day) –
What was the situation?
– What influenced the decision – Factors (discussed in the next slide)
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10. Factors influencing decisions
• Family
– Upbringing, relatives, elders
• Society
– Cultural, religion, political
• Education
– Level of education – it’s not about being literate – it’s about
awareness
• Experiences
– All through our life- personal and professional
• Hear say
– Gatherings, meetings, get-togethers,
• Peers
– Colleagues, friends
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11. Send in your suggestions/questions/feedback to
nabarun2104@gmail.com
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12. Think and Think again
• Never take a decision for immediate gains or in haste…the result might
be favorable for the time but in the long run the decision will result in
mayhem.
• Think and think again while making a decision. Once taken, do everything
possible to make it a success!
TIP: Think when you are alone and calmed within 
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13. Few examples of the decisions we make, take – Decide!
• Decision is needed at every point in life
• Family decision
• Education decision
• Career decision
• Decisions that are good for one may/may not be the same for all
• Decisions can have an impact on one or many.
• Decisions can be good for some, bad for few and average for others.
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14. Summary
• No decision is Good decision or Bad decision…it’s the value of the
decision- if the result is anything other than Optimal, the decision must
be re-worked.
• Decisions are only choices.
• Choices make who we are and eventually become!
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15. Ownership
Remember that the Choice is Mine! Entirely mine!
There is no running away!
Blink! Think! Decide!
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