My favorite decision making frameworks

Whatever decision you’re facing, ask yourself, “Is there a way to make sure I will stick to the path I’ve decided is best?” By thinking through your options, and precommitting to courses of action, you free up space to tackle other problems. Even if we’re waiting as long as possible to decide, we now know exactly what to focus on and do when the ti

The chief enemy of good decisions is a lack of sufficient perspectives on a problem.

To improve performance, decisions must result in outcomes you can observe and learn from, designed to surface whatever information will be most valuable for your next decision. As much as possible make iterative decisions, building on lessons learned from previous ones.

Here, then, is a basic architecture of executive decision making we found in our research: Determine how much time you have to decide, whether minutes, hours, days, months, or even years. Stimulate dialogue and debate—guided by facts and evidence—to determine the best options. Make a decision, firm and unambiguous, once you’re clear on what must be