In every business, there are dozens of decisions to be made every day, from the seemingly petty ones to the large-scale. These decisions can have a significant impact on the organization, employees, customers, and the market.
There are necessary steps to ensure that the organization arrives at the optimal and most efficient decisions.
The first step identifying the problem. Knowing the symptoms or effects of the problems would not suffice; their underlying causes should be determined to properly address the issue and learn what the real objective of the decision-making is. There are plenty root cause analysis tools that could help, and those that need to be involved should be included in the process.
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After which, a multiple perspective analysis should be conducted. In “Leadership Decision Making,” University of Baltimore Professor Hossein Arsham likened this step to “wearing different hats,” which could lead to various thinking approaches. Possible solutions can then be formulated, and subsequently evaluated.
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The next step is making the decision. Some leaders get bogged down by analysis paralysis, such that no progress is taken towards making the decision. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “In any moment of decision, the best you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Emile Haddad is a Seattle-based senior executive coach who has taught many business leaders and employees about the different skills needed to achieve success. Check this LinkedIn page for more information about him.
Emile Haddad Seattle 
