What key decisions have you recently made? Are you a clear and effective decider? We each face these inescapable questions. You make personal decisions; you make relationship decisions, and you make work-related decisions. Have you discussed the art of decision making with your son or daughter and with the people you mentor? Decision making should be taught in the fourth and fifth grades as a fundamental skill. But unless you’ve had an enlightened mentor, it’s unlikely you engaged in this conversation at age 10 or even 15. Can you imagine how different your life would have been had you mastered the art of decision making at the age of 12?
Please print out and keep this KEY to improve decision making and create a conversation with your family and with your team about decision-making blind spots. Encourage them to put into practice these insights. Coach and help them develop the mastery of decision making.
Listen to our podcast: The Decision Blind Spots. Please forward this KEY to friends, family and associates. Sincerely,
The Decision-Making Blind Spots
Here are the first five blind spots and mistakes people make when approaching decisions. We will share with you the next five blind spots in a future key. Please introduce these critical concepts to a young person this week. The exercise will help you internalize these for yourself and begin to create a legacy of wiser decisions.
1. The Bias Blindness
The first blind spot is failing to recognize your biases and personal preferences, and how they influence your evaluation. We all have biases and preferences. The point is to become aware and get to know your biases. If you don’t, they control you and prevent you from seeing the full picture and from making optimal decisions.
2. The Reaction Blindness
“Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him,” said Aldous Huxley. What makes us humans is awareness and our ability to discern and separate the response from the stimuli. All forms of life have the capacity to react to stimuli. But reacting is not choosing. We have the capacity to consider options and choose how to respond.
3. The “Why” Blindness
Being unclear about your overarching purpose – your “Why” – can leave you rudderless and without a compass. Purpose provides criteria and a framework to determine objectives and options. You don’t see Steve Jobs and Apple planting apple trees or Japanese gardens. Apple’s purpose is not to plant cool gardens; they are in business to delight and transform people’s lives with cool and innovative technology. Purpose outlines direction and defines criteria against which all decisions can be measured. People and organizations we admire lead with purpose; their “Why” guides their decisions and is evident in all that they do.
4. The Objectives blindness
A decision is choosing between alternatives. If you are not clear about the “What” (objective) it’s difficult to choose. By clarifying what success looks like (desired outcome) you form a set of measures to more selectively choose among the options. Years ago when we planned a family trip from Seattle to Boulder, our first choice was to drive and not to fly because we wanted to visit Yellowstone on the way. Our objective defined the route. The next choice was to drive through Montana because our second objective was to visit hot springs on the way. We then chose to stay an additional few days in Yellowstone and settled to seeing the Tetons from the road. The objective was to experience more of what we found in Yellowstone over the expediency of rushing to the next thing. Clarifying objectives and desires in our family discussions helped us make optimal decisions together.
5. The Musts/Wants Blindness
Confusing “wants” for “musts.” Purpose and objectives ought to provide clarity and distinction of musts from wants. Musts are deal breakers. Wants are nice to have. Failing to clarify a few definitive musts and separating the wants by order of importance makes any decision a lot more difficult. Specifically, large purchasing decisions like buying a home ought to be guided by defining first the musts and then ordering the wants by weight of importance. Clarifying musts and prioritizing wants is a great process and skill to practice. Write down your musts and wants to clarify, reason and prioritize them.
Now it’s your turn. Turn the Key. Mentor and coach your family and your team in the art of decision making. Help them put to practice these insights and gain the confidence and self-esteem found in decision-making mastery. Create a future that will make you and your people proud.
© Aviv Shahar
Ni maamuzi gani muhimu ambayo umefanya hivi karibuni? Je, wewe ni mamuzi mwenye uwazi na mwenye matokeo? Kila mmoja wetu anakabiliwa na maswali hayo yasiyoweza kuepukika. Unafanya maamuzi ya kibinafsi, maamuzi ya uhusiano, na maamuzi ya kazi. Je, umezungumza na mwanao au binti yako na watu unaowafundisha kuhusu jinsi ya kufanya maamuzi? Kufanya maamuzi kunapaswa kufundishwa katika darasa la nne na la tano kama ustadi wa msingi. Lakini isipokuwa umekuwa na mshauri mwanga, ni uwezekano mdogo kwamba ulishiriki katika mazungumzo haya wakati wa umri wa miaka 10 au hata 15. Je, unaweza kuwazia jinsi maisha yako yangekuwa tofauti kama ungeweza kufanya maamuzi kwa ustadi ukiwa na umri wa miaka 12? Tafadhali kuchapisha na kuweka hii KEY kuboresha maamuzi na kuunda mazungumzo na familia yako na timu yako kuhusu maamuzi ya blindspots. Watie moyo watumie mambo hayo. Kuwafundisha na kuwasaidia kuendeleza ustadi wa kufanya maamuzi. "Kumbuka podcast yetu ""Mafunguo ya Kifo ya Uamuzi.""" Tafadhali kupitisha hii KEY kwa marafiki, familia na washirika. Kwa kweli, sehemu za kipofu za kufanya maamuzi Hapa ni sehemu tano za kipofu za kwanza na makosa ambayo watu hufanya wakati wa kukaribia maamuzi. Tutashiriki na wewe maeneo matano ya wafu ijayo katika ufunguo wa baadaye. Tafadhali weka dhana hizi muhimu kwa kijana wiki hii. Mazoezi yatakusaidia kuingiza haya ndani yako mwenyewe na kuanza kuunda urithi wa maamuzi ya busara. 1. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Uso wa upofu wa upendeleo: Sehemu ya kwanza ya upofu ni kushindwa kutambua upendeleo wako na upendeleo wa kibinafsi, na jinsi wanavyoathiri tathmini yako. Sote tuna upendeleo na mapendezi. Jambo ni kuwa na ufahamu na kujua upendeleo wako. Ikiwa hufanyi hivyo, wanakudhibiti na kukuzuia usione picha nzima na kufanya maamuzi bora. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata "Usofu wa Reaction: ""Uzoefu si kile kinachompata mtu; ni kile mtu anachofanya na kile kinachompata,"" alisema Aldous Huxley." Kile kinachotufanya sisi wanadamu ni ufahamu na uwezo wetu wa kutambua na kutenganisha majibu kutoka kwa vichocheo. Aina zote za uhai zina uwezo wa kuitikia visababishi. Lakini kuitikia si kuchagua. Tuna uwezo wa kufikiria chaguzi na kuchagua jinsi ya kujibu. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Usofu wa "Kwa nini" Kutokuwa na uwazi kuhusu kusudi lako kuu - "Kwa nini" yako - kunaweza kukuacha bila mwongozo na bila dira. Kusudi hutoa vigezo na mfumo wa kuamua malengo na chaguzi. Huwezi kumwona Steve Jobs na Apple wakipanda miti ya apple au bustani za Kijapani. Apple sio kwa ajili ya kupanda bustani nzuri, ni kwa ajili ya kufurahisha na kubadilisha maisha ya watu kwa teknolojia nzuri na ya ubunifu. Kusudi linaonyesha mwelekeo na kufafanua vigezo ambavyo maamuzi yote yanaweza kupimwa. Watu na mashirika tunayoyavutiwa huongoza kwa kusudi; "Kwa nini" yao huongoza maamuzi yao na ni dhahiri katika kila kitu wanachofanya. 4. Uwe na uhakika Uso wa kipofu wa malengo Uamuzi ni kuchagua kati ya njia mbadala. Kama huna wazi kuhusu <unk>What<unk> (lengo) ni vigumu kuchagua. Kwa kufafanua nini mafanikio inaonekana kama (matokeo yanayotakiwa) wewe fomu seti ya hatua kwa kuchagua zaidi kwa hiari kati ya chaguzi. "Wakati tulipokuwa tukipanga safari ya familia kutoka Seattle kwenda Boulder, uchaguzi wetu wa kwanza ulikuwa kuendesha gari na si kuruka kwa ndege kwa sababu tulitaka kutembelea Yellowstone njiani. """ Kusudi letu lilifafanua njia. """Tunataka kuendesha gari kupitia Montana, kwa sababu lengo letu la pili lilikuwa kutembelea chemchemi za maji moto njiani." Kisha tukaamua kukaa siku chache zaidi huko Yellowstone na tukaamua kuona milima ya Teton kutoka barabarani. Lengo lilikuwa kupata uzoefu zaidi wa kile tulichokipata katika Yellowstone juu ya ufanisi wa kukimbilia kwa kitu kifuatacho. Kufafanua malengo na matakwa katika mazungumzo yetu ya familia kulituwezesha kufanya maamuzi bora pamoja. 5. Uwe na mtazamo mzuri. The Musts/Wants Blindness Confusing wants for musts. Purpose and objectives ought to provide clarity and distinction of musts from wants. Mst ni breakers mpango. Ni vizuri kuwa na tamaa. Kushindwa kufafanua mambo machache ya lazima na kutenganisha mahitaji kulingana na umuhimu hufanya uamuzi wowote uwe mgumu zaidi. Hasa, maamuzi makubwa ya ununuzi kama kununua nyumba inapaswa kuongozwa na kufafanua kwanza lazima na kisha kuagiza anataka kwa uzito wa umuhimu. Kufafanua lazima na kuweka vipaumbele anataka ni mchakato mkubwa na ujuzi wa mazoezi. Andika must yako na anataka kufafanua, sababu na kuweka kipaumbele yao. Sasa ni zamu yako. Zungusha ufunguo. Mshauri na kocha familia yako na timu yako katika sanaa ya kufanya maamuzi. Wasaidie watumie ufahamu huu na kupata ujasiri na kujithamini unaopatikana katika ustadi wa kufanya maamuzi. Kuunda siku zijazo ambayo itafanya wewe na watu wako kujivunia. Shahar Aviv