Whether you run a small business or a big company, and whether you are expanding or stagnating, you have to make quick decisions. You can’t allow being surprised by unintended consequences. You always need to be prepared for any unexpected situation, so you can react and find the best possible solution. However, the decision-making process has to be thorough and carefully planned. You need to follow all the necessary steps and choose the best strategy. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of hints which will, hopefully, help you in creating the best decision-making strategy.
Identify the problem or opportunity and gather all valuable information
As we’ve mentioned, your company, whether it is located in Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore, will face problems or opportunities always. Hence, you have to be prepared and find a solution. But before that, you have to decide is that problem even worth addressing. It might be some small thing which can be easily solved, so you don’t even have to analyze it. But if you recognize that the real problem exists, you have to react. Therefore, your first step after identifying should be gathering all valuable information from many different resources to find the best solution. Talking to your closest colleagues is always a good move. However, sometimes, it’s not enough. In order to make better data-driven decisions, it is highly recommended to use media portal solutions. It will also be beneficial for your overall media picture and marketing, as well.
Consider all options and brainstorm possible outcomes
There will always be different solutions for fixing a particular problem. The smart move is to consider every viable option and outcome. In the beginning, create a list of pros and cons for each option. Involve all the risks, cost-benefit analysis, and other difficulties. Afterward, analyze the list with your colleagues and other relevant people or companies. And don’t be desperate if you have too many options. More options give you a higher chance of finding the proper one which has the potential to become the solution. Another hint would be to go for the elimination system. First, cut all the options that show low chances of success. That way, you’ll be left with only a few solutions, which will make it easier to find the best one in the end.
Bias is not allowed
The rule above them all – do not make biased decisions! Do not let your emotions to cloud your judgment and decision-making process. You don’t want to create a solution based on what you like, or what seems to be okay. The only trustworthy solution has to be proven to work, with many arguments in its favor. Again, write all the options (pros and cons), and make sure that all of your judgments are based only on clear facts! Furthermore, tell your colleagues who participate in the decision-making process that you don’t want them to make an emotional and biased decision. Only facts matter, nothing else.
Choose the best option and take action
Now, when you have collected all relevant facts and analyzed all possible outcomes, it is the time to choose the option with the highest chances of success. Allocate all your resources and onboard needed stakeholders to achieve your goal. Make sure that you don’t waste time at all – just make the action call whenever you are 100% sure that you’ve chosen the best solution. Also, make sure that everyone else is on the same mission as you, and that all your partners and colleagues know exactly what they have to do. If everybody else has the same mental attitude as you, chances of success will be much higher.
Follow the process
People usually overlook this step, but it is quite essential. You have to track and follow the option you have chosen to see if it worked out, or you need to find a better solution next time. Use all your potential resources, or even form a team which will follow the process. Besides, in the business world, things could change rapidly. The decision you made a month ago doesn’t have to be useful in the future. Therefore, always keep your eyes open at all possible fluctuations, and change your decisions in the same way as the things change in your niche. Follow the trends. Always.
Each of these steps is vital for choosing the best decision-making strategy. Finding a correct solution could be really tough, and underestimating any of these steps could affect your choices negatively. Therefore, recognize the problem, consider options and outcomes, seek for help, eliminate bias, choose the best option, take action, and follow the whole process afterward. And don’t forget, you might not be able to repeat the same process twice because trends in your niche could change quickly.