24 decision making methods. Research included.

1. How do you
make decisions?

3. Which of these 24 decision making methods
do you like the best?

4. Method # 1
What are your
healthy habits?

6. If you have a habit of eating salad for lunch
every day and that works well for you, just
keep on doing it.
Then you can save your decision-making energy for
other things.
Adapted from
https://hbr.org/2015/11/3-timeless-rules-for-making-tough-decisions

7. What are YOUR healthy habits?

8. Method # 2
How well do you
understand the problem?

9. How well do you understand the problem
– including the reasons for the problem?
https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-to-make-better-decisions-with-less-data

10. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-deciding-gets-hard-getting-beyond-basics-deb-loftus-ph-d-

11. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-understand-the-problem-1531110

12. Method # 3
What are arguments for
and against the decision?

13. What are arguments
for the decision?
What are arguments
against the decision?
Advantages.
Benefits.
Strengths.
Disadvantages.
Problems.
Weaknesses.

14. Please think about a decision you need to take in your
life. Individually, please take 2 minutes now to write
down what arguments you can find that speak
1. for the decision.
2. against the decision.

15. Now, please take 1 minute individually to consider all
arguments you have written down for and against the
decision.
Then make the decision.

16. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Six-thinking-hats-1455136

17. Method # 4
What brain will you use
to make the decision?

18. Head brain
Thinking and creating meaning.
Heart brain
Values, feelings, and relations to others.
Gut brain
Personality.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-deciding-gets-hard-getting-beyond-basics-deb-loftus-ph-d-

19. Have 3 chairs in your office – representing your head brain,
heart brain, and gut brain.
Move from chair to chair and give voice to the viewpoint of
each brain about the decision to be made.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-deciding-gets-hard-getting-beyond-basics-deb-loftus-ph-d-

20. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-brain-1500203

21. Method # 5
What values do you have?

22. Be creative
values
Do it well
values
Get it done
values
Be a part of it
values

23. 5 questions to discover values you have:
Question # 1: What was your last moment of true happiness?
Why was this for you a moment of true happiness?
Question # 2: Whom do you admire the most?
Why do you admire this person?
Question # 3: When were you at your best?
Why were you at your best then?
Question # 4: Which 1 word says the most about you?
Why does this word say the most about you? Please explain.
Question # 5: If you could try any work for a week, what would it be?
Why do you want to try out the work you suggested?

24. Value hierarchy
Please write down the 2 values mentioned most frequently.
Values
The # 1 mentioned value:
The # 2 mentioned value:

25. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Questions-to-discover-your-values-1329394

26. Method # 6
How will you decide when you
think ahead and look back?

27. https://youtu.be/jwG_qR6XmDQ
Please think about a decision
you need to take.
When you are 80 years old, do
you think you would regret not
having done it / having done it?
Jeff Bezos

28. The 10-10-10 rule
When you’re about to make a decision, ask yourself
how you will feel about it
 10 minutes from now.
 10 months from now.
 10 years from now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/opinion/the-choice-explosion.html
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/01/989517/

29. Hi folks, can we please take 5 minutes to imagine that we
are at the end of the project, and that we took some
wrong decisions on the way.
During the next 5 minutes, please write down - each one
of you – which of the decisions, we took, were wrong.
Please also write why we took these wrong decisions.
Thank you.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/strategic_decisions_when_can_you_trust_your_gut
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/are-you-ready-to-decide
The premortem exercise

30. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-understand-the-problem-1531110

31. Method # 7
When will you
set a deadline?

32. Pick a decision you have been postponing.
Give yourself 3 minutes. Then make
the decision.
https://hbr.org/2015/11/3-timeless-rules-for-making-tough-decisions

33. Method # 8
To which 3 possibilities can
you reduce the decision?

34. Step # 1
Go to a shop website where you can buy toasters.
Step # 2
Use the filter to define needs you have for a toaster.
Example: Only 1 toast at a time.
Step # 3
Reduce the number of toasters you see to 3 by elimating
those you do not want.
Adapted from
http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/08/what-a-bad-decision-looks-like-in-the-brain/497402/
Example: Toaster purchase

35. Method # 9
What will you do now that is
important and not urgent?

36. Not urgent Urgent
Important
Invest as much time as
possible doing these
tasks whenever possible.
Not
important
Eisenhower matrix.

37. Not urgent Urgent
Important
Examples:
 Learning.
 Doing sports / physical exercise.
 Eating healthy food.
 Communicating with friends.
 Planning what you want to do when.
Not
important

38. Not urgent Urgent
Important
Examples:
 Life / death emergencies.
 Crisis communication.
 Deadlines of important tasks.
 Learning to do something that needs to be
fixed now.
Not
important

39. Not urgent Urgent
Important
Not
important
Examples:
 Watching entertainment.
 Eating unhealthy food.
 Phone call about topics of little relevance.

40. Not urgent Urgent
Important
Not
important
Examples:
 Ineffective meetings.
 Phone call or e-mail with irrelevant demands.

41. Sources
http://www.businessinsider.com/dwight-eisenhower-nailed-a-major-insight-about-productivity-2014-4
https://exist.io/blog/eisenhower/
https://medium.com/@artofmanliness/decide-like-ike-the-eisenhower-decision-matrix-2959919e5cb6#.w2mir92f5
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_91.htm
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/01/989517/
http://theviewinside.me/work-on-the-important-things-that-are-not-urgent/

42. Method # 10
Are you using statistical facts
to make your decision?

43. “I don't think smoking is that bad, because my uncle Arthur
smoked 20 cigarettes every day, and he lived till he was 92.”
The story of Arthur is highly unrepresentative of
smokers as a whole.
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-availability-error-trap-6892686.html?cat=3

44. http://io9.com/5974468/the-most-common-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rational
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/how-scared-should-we-be/
http://www.livescience.com/3780-odds-dying.html
Lifetime risk is calculated by dividing population by the number of deaths per year, divided by the life expectancy in years of a person.
Lifetime risk of dying in a car accident
1:84.
Lifetime risk of dying in a plane crash
Between 1:5,000 and 1:20,000.

45. Method # 11
What about trying to live with
the consequences of your
decision for a longer time?

46. To stop eating 2 chocolate bars instead of 1 on a
Wednesday, try forcing yourself to live with the
consequences of eating 2 chocolate bars every
day for the entire week.
http://io9.com/current-moment-bias-is-my-worst-one-im-a-terrible-proc-264008358

47. Although you know you want to STOP voting
for a certain person or certain party, why do
you keep voting for this person / party?
http://io9.com/5974468/the-most-common-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rational

48. Although you know you should not eat
chocolate bar # 2, why do you eat it, just
because you bought 2 for the price of 1?
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/how-the-sunk-cost-fallacy-makes-you-act-stupid.html

49. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reasons-why-people-resist-change-1453736

50. Method # 12
When do you make
important decisions?

51. Over the course of a regular day, we become increasingly
tired. Thereby, the quality of our decisions is reduced.
In other words, do not make important decisions
late in the day.
https://hbr.org/2016/02/dont-make-important-decisions-late-in-the-day

52. Method # 13
When will you use
your intuition?

53. If something you want to make a decision about is
impacted by many changes, there’s no basis for intuition.
To use intuition, you need a certain degree of
stability that only changes minimally.
Adapted from
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/strategic-decisions-when-can-you-trust-your-gut

54. To use your intuition well, decision makers need
to have the possibility to get feedback on
their judgments, so they can strengthen them
and gain expertise.
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/strategic-decisions-when-can-you-trust-your-gut

55. Your conscience shouts ”here’s
what you should you”, while your
intuition whispers, ”here’s what
you could do.”
Listen to that voice that tells you
what you could do. Nothing will
define your character more than
that.
Steven Spielberg.
https://youtu.be/TYtoDunfu00
Minute 6.

56. Method # 14
From whom will you seek advice
before making your decision?

57. How does the advice process work?
Step # 1
You notice a problem or an opportunity.
Step # 2
You seek advice from people who
1. will be affected by the decision.
2. know a lot about the topic.
Step # 3
You make the decision by taking all advice into consideration.
http://www.reinventingorganizationswiki.com/Decision_Making

58. 3 benefits of the advice process
# 1: People are involved
People, who are asked for advice, feel they are needed.
# 2: Learning is happening
Asking people = learning.
# 3: Better decisions are made
The decision maker has to live with the consequences of the decision.
http://www.reinventingorganizationswiki.com/Decision_Making

59. Buurtzorg uses social media, for example blogs,
to support the advice process.
http://www.reinventingorganizationswiki.com/Decision_Making

60. Please think of a decision you need to make in your life.
Now, please think about from whom you want to
seek advice. Please include people who
1. will be affected by the decision.
2. know a lot about the topic.
2 minute individual reflection

61. Method # 15
Will you rather divide
or decide?

62. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/leadership-and-behavior-mastering-the-mechanics-of-reason-and-emotion
When you want to share a cake fairly with another
person, ask him or her if he / she wants to divide the
cake or decide which piece he / she wants.
The ”divide or decide” method works because the
person dividing the cake will make sure that the cake
is divided equally.

63. Method # 16
How often do you
use the if-then rule?

64. Let’s say someone constantly interrupts you, and
you are not sure how to respond.
Try the if-then rule
If the person interrupts you 2 times in a conversation,
then you say, “Please let me finish talking.”
https://hbr.org/2015/11/3-timeless-rules-for-making-tough-decisions

65. Method # 17
What about using
best practice?

66. Research shows that managers, who made decisions using
best practices, achieved their expected results 90% of the
time, and 40% of them exceeded expectations.
However, only 2% regularly apply best practices when
making decisions.
https://hbr.org/2016/03/a-checklist-for-making-faster-better-decisions

67. https://twitter.com/mumblr/status/777310047797784576

68. Method # 18
When will you listen
to people you do not know?

69. Human ethnocentrism, the tendency to view one's
group as very important and better than other groups,
creates intergroup bias that fuels prejudice,
xenophobia, and intergroup violence.
http://www.pnas.org/content/108/4/1262

70. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Listening-tips-1485898

71. Method # 19
When will you listen to people
you do not agree with?

72. http://io9.com/5974468/the-most-common-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rational
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/are-you-ready-to-decide
We love to agree with people who agree with us.
When you need to make a decision, how often do you
listen to / learn from people who disagree with you /
have a different opinion than you have?

73. We may have a negative emotional reaction on meeting
people who seem different from us. This “fear of the other”
emotion evolved for a good purpose: In a tribal world, other
tribes posed a threat.
Today, however, this “fear of the other” emotion can get in
the way of interactions. It introduces immediate hostility,
when there should not be hostility.
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/leadership-and-behavior-mastering-the-mechanics-of-reason-and-emotion

74. Degree to
which
decision
proposals
have been
challenged
against over-
optimism by
people who
do not agree
with each
other
Use brainstorming to
get more ideas.
Make decision.
Use 6 thinking hats.
Number of different
points of view considered
http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/Strategy/Are_you_ready_to_decide

75. Method # 20
How strongly do you focus
on satisfying needs of
people who love you?

76. Instead of trying to be loved by everyone, focus on satisfying
needs of those who truly love you.
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/01/989517/

77. Method # 21
Who do you want
to decide for you?

78. Leader’s choice is usually the fastest approach,
so it is the most appropriate in a crisis.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

79. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Crisis-communication-2393660

80. Method # 22
When do you decide
against a group?

81. When people hear each other make estimates, the
1st person influences the 2nd person who influences the
3rd person etc.
However, when people estimate independently, for
example how many coins there are in a jar, the accuracy
of the judgment rises - on average - with the number of
estimates.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/strategic_decisions_when_can_you_trust_your_gut

82. In an experiment, participants were asked to identify which of 3
lines on a card was the same length as a line on another card.
When asked individually, participants chose the correct line.
When asked in the presence of paid actors who intentionally
selected the wrong line, about 75% conformed to the group at
least once. In other words, they chose an incorrect answer in
order to fit in.
https://hbr.org/cover-story/2016/10/let-your-workers-rebel

83. Method # 23
When do you ask
people to vote?

84. A majority vote allows every voice to be
heard and is generally viewed as fair.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

85. Be aware that it may be difficult for some
people to declare their opinion publicly.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

86. Method # 24
When will you move
when people silently agree?

87. http://www.destination-innovation.com/try-this-phrase-to-speed-action-unless-i-hear-differently/
http://unlessiheardifferently.com/
Send your best plan with this message:
“Unless I hear differently by 11 AM CET on Thursday,
I will go ahead with this.”

88. In a meeting, a person summarizes a dialogue and
concludes. When other participants show consent
by saying nothing and/or nodding, the couple /
team / group has made a decision.
http://fac-vid.squarespace.com/bedre-moeder/Ravn%20-%20Bedre%20mder%20gennem%20facilitering.pdf p. 9.

89. Consent based decision making can be
made when team members, who are
present, do not object.
http://www.reinventingorganizationswiki.com/Decision_Making

90. 3 decision making
exercises

91. Individual reflection exercise
Please take a minute to think about how you make
decisions in life.

92. Group exercise. 1 minute per person.
Those of you, who want to, please share a decision
making success experience you had in your life.

93. Those of you who want to, please ask everyone for help to
make a decision you want to make.
After a person has shared what he / she needs help with to
make his / her decision, all other participants use their
knowledge, resources, and connections to help the person.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/givers_take_all_the_hidden_dimension_of_corporate_culture
Group exercise. 1 minute per person.