4 points you need to know before you make a decision…
“To make a good decision, delay your intuition until you’ve gathered all the necessary information”, says Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist who won a Nobel Prize in 2002 for his pioneering work in the field of behavioral economics.
Which way should I go? Am I making the right choice? If yes, how am I so sure about the conclusion?
Been there? I guess we all have. There comes a point in our lives when we are stuck at situations like these. We try to seek reason but we find ourselves back to square one. Be it a personal issue or a professional crisis, today I am going to tell you 4 key points that can serve as a quick check before we make a decision :
1. Logic :
Pretty common right? Is someone who doesn’t use logic and reasoning, a fool? Well, maybe. But do we know the actual validation of the logic we put forth into use? What if we mistake an opinion to be our reason of judgement? Now come on…guess a word that starts with “o” and ends with “s”, and can make us cry.
For those of you who guessed “onions”, well…they are harmless until we harm them. But “opinions” on the other hand can be quite dangerous. High time that we start to reason them. Logic can be a good tool to start with while you are at a crossroad.
2. Emotions :
Let’s see what the TROLLEY PROBLEM has in it for us…
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options:
- Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track.
- Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.
What would you do? Do you think killing one person is better than killing five?
If I tell you that those five people on the main track are your family members, will your decision change drastically? What if those five people are criminals who have a death sentence that is to be executed in another two days? Are you still with your previous decision? No, right?
This is how we are governed by emotions. It’s always good to keep a check on our emotions while we make an important decision. Emotions are essential, but don’t forget to sprinkle some logic as the final touch.
3) Empathy :
This is something which has a very thin line of difference from our emotions. While we judge a situation based on our emotions, empathy actually makes us imagine ourselves in their shoes. Being empathetic can be a good way to go about decision making, but we can always keep a check based on situations.
If I tell you that there’s a theft in your neighborhood, do you want the thief to get caught? But, if I tell you that there’s a theft of 1000 bucks in Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the thief did it because his family had not eaten anything for the past one day, do you still want the thief to get caught?
While empathy can play a huge role in decision making, we can always know how much and where to use it. Decisions relating to personal life can demand huge empathetic levels, but professional decisions can be based less on emotions and empathy and more on logic and situational needs.
4. Conversational Intelligence :
Last but not the least and my personal favorite. Letting someone know that you disagree without hurting her feelings is all we got to learn. Making use of the sandwich model, explaining the reasons and current scenario to the person before serving your decision and the words you choose while you deliver your conclusion…everything plays a key role. Want to know more about Conversational Intelligence? Give a quick 2 minute read to my previous blog : “The art of having a conversation…”
Cutting the long story short, I think now you have gathered enough points to delay your intuition. Ready to make the next decision in style? Let me put it this way,
“Better late than ever!”
Read more at:
