6 Simple Steps to Developing Good Decision-Making Skills
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#Good Decision-Making Skills #Project management #Tips 4 mins read

6 Simple Steps to Developing Good Decision-Making Skills

Every day you must make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions. While decisions at home can seem relatively trivial like what to eat for breakfast, what to watch on TV – decisions at work are so important that they will make or break your career. But how do you know you’re making the right decision? Take a look at the following article.

Here are 6 simple steps to make the right decision

1. Start with desire

 

“Developing Good Decision-Making Skills”, start with goals set. The purpose of making a decision is to achieve a certain outcome. So that should be a good starting point: Start with the end in mind.

 

What does the optimal result look like? Your desired goal might be to improve metrics like productivity or business results like higher sales or increase your market share or address unexpected risk issues. When you know where you want to go, you streamline your efforts to get there, and that helps minimize distractions.

 

How you can do this: At the project kickoff meeting, discuss with your team and document what project success will entail. That way, every decision along the way can be made in service of that goal.

 

2. Relying on data and insights to detect patterns

 

W. Edwards Deming, engineer, and creator of the Deming Cycle, famously said: “Trust in God; everyone else will carry the data for you.”

 

Indeed, data is the clue. We live in a digitally connected world where everything from watches to cars generates volumes of data.

 

These data sources are rich in quality, are available in large quantities, and can be analyzed to gain valuable insights such as customer purchasing patterns, market behavior, dynamics, etc. employee performance drivers, and cost optimization avenues. With these insights, decision-making becomes more scientific and has more control over the outcome.

 

How you can do this: Use risk management software to leverage data when making important decisions. This template will help you Developing Good Decision-Making Skills.

 

3. Use SWOT analysis

 

Once you review your goals and find clear patterns, you are one step closer to arriving at Developing Good Decision-Making Skills. Now it’s time to put the detailed scenarios on paper and list the pros and cons of each.

 

SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, is a great tool for doing this. This is an important step in the decision-making process because the work you put into a SWOT analysis can also serve as a point of reference for future decisions.

 

How you can do this: When approaching a decision, draw a square with four squares, each for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Fill in the boxes related to this decision, preferably as a team, and look for connections between strengths and opportunities, weaknesses and threats. If there is a strong connection between strengths and opportunities, that is a good sign that you should move on. On the other hand, if your weakness comes with threats, you’ll want to consider other options.

 

4. Simulating results

 

Simulating results for different situations is a combination of art and science. The science part can come from methods like problem tree, SCQA – situation, complexity, question, answer, and MECE – mutually exclusive. mutually exclusive) as a whole (collectively exhaustive).

 

The real artistic part is one’s ability to visualize the scenario and possible outcomes. This can come from experience, business acumen, and understanding of your customer base. But for the most part, that’s old common sense.

 

How you can do this: Use tools like project management software like UpDiagram to determine if you’re keeping on schedule and budget. Use the instincts and project management techniques from UpDiagram to visualize the results when making decisions. Because UpDiagram has an estimate management template that makes your decisions clear and optimized. In addition to work, the software’s diverse views will help you have a more diverse and general view of large and small tasks, creating breakthroughs in judgment.

 

5. Trust your instincts

 

Henry Winkler, aka The Fonz, once wrote: “Your mind knows only a few things. Your inner voice, your instinct, knows everything. If you listen to what you instinctively know, it will always lead you on the right path.”

 

As you can see, The Fonz was about more than just boxing juggling and shark-jumping on water skis.

 

Intuition, feeling, instinct… You can call it whatever you like, but one thing is software code will never be copyable. Some of the world’s greatest leaders rely on their intuition to make their final decisions, and they swear by it. I think it’s one of those things that people use every day but underestimate when making decisions.

 

How you can do this: As professionals, our growth depends on our ability to make decisions that drive results. So every minute spent honing that skill makes the difference between being the best and the best. Keep learning, keep listening and you’ll make better decisions. Developing Good Decision-Making Skills with UpDiagram!

 

6. Clearly identify your shortcomings

 

We are often mismanaged by our shortcomings. It’s common in even the simplest decisions we make, such as missing a deadline, making a mistake on a task or problem.

 

As a management professional, you will face many biases that can negatively affect your decisions. Being aware of your shortcomings is a big step towards making better decisions about your career or management career.

 

How you can do this: after making mistakes caused by omission and learning from it. To help the next time you do not have to repeat the mistake, recognize – accept – and correct the mistake is what you should do.

 

People need to make decisions all the time, whether right or wrong, each decision needs to be considered. Rely on the steps above so that decisions are no longer regrets.

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