Making Decisions

I was listening to a National Public Radio piece while driving during the recent Thanksgiving Holiday.  It was a conversation with Dan Heath, Senior Fellow from Duke University, and co-author with his brother Chip Heath of the book, Decisive:  How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work (Crown Business, 2013)

Heath introduced a four-step process for making better and more balanced decisions. He explained that "when it comes to making decisions, it's clear that our brains are flawed instruments."

In order to fix this problem, Heath first explained four villains that get in our way for making better and more balanced decisions.  First, we have too narrow of focus.  We focus on the obvious and visible, and we miss important facts outside our immediate view.

Secondly, we fall into "confirmation bias" when we develop a quick belief about something and then seek out information that confirms that belief.

Third, we also get too emotionally connected to the decision and then struggle with being appropriately detached.

Finally, we can be overconfident.  We assume that we know more than we actually do know and jump to conclusions, thinking we can accurately predict the future.

In order to help counter these four villains and make better decisions, Heath then introduced four steps that he terms "WRAP:"  Widen your options.  Reality-test your assumptions.  Attain distance before deciding.  Prepare to be wrong.

As state organization and chapter presidents, we make many sensitive decisions.  In reflection, I know that there are times I find myself falling into the trap of the four villains; therefore, my "take away" from listening to Dan Heath is to try using the WRAP process.

If you haven't read anything by Dan and Chip Heath, I think you may find their works beneficial to you.  Chip is a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, teaching courses on business strategy and organizations.  They co-authored an early book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard (Crown Business, 2010)

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard