Take time to deliberate, but when the time for

action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.

— Napoleon Bonaparte 

 

 

Make Better Decisions.

Success comes from making sound decisions: College or job? Married or single? This person or that one? Repair or buy new? Rent or own? This job or that one? Now or later? You can make the best choices.

 

Yes, You Can!

•  Recognize that you will never have perfect information for making important decisions. Set the goal of making good decisions with sufficient information within a limited time.

•  Define the problem to be solved. What exactly is the gap between where you are and where you want to be?

•  List as many options as you can to close this gap. Be creative; ask others for their suggestions. Don’t jump on the first good-looking alternative, and don’t stop until you run out of ideas.

•  Determine the criteria your final decision will satisfy. What “musts” will you insist upon, what “wants” will you hope for, and what is their relative importance?

•  Apply your criteria to all the options. Then select the one that meets all the must conditions and does the best job of achiev­ing your most important wants.

•  Before you implement your decision, ask yourself what might go wrong with it. Prepare yourself to solve possible glitches down the road.

•  Get feedback Can others find flaws in your thinking that could keep you from getting to where you want to be?

•  Act on your decision. Don’t second-guess yourself, but if new information comes to light, be flexible and revise the decision.

•  When you’re paralyzed, own up to the cause. Is it perfection­ism, insecurity, aversion to risk, fear of failure, or hoping to be all things to all people?