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How to Make a Difficult Decision

By Alexandra Levit | Posted on March 2nd, 2010

There’s no denying that some decisions are easier than others, and some people have more trouble making decisions than others. If you have to make a choice and you’re stuck, here’s a process I like to use:

Define the situation in concrete terms: As if you are telling a story, write out the particulars. What do you have to make a decision about, and what led up to this point? Who are the people involved? What is the deadline for making the decision?
Generate as many alternatives as you can: Write down everything that comes to mind, and then look at your list carefully. Are any of your options totally unrealistic? If so, cross these off.
Evaluate each choice: List the positive and negative consequences – or pros and cons – associated with each option. When considering pros and cons, think about your most important personal values (i.e. how will you feel about yourself if you take a certain action?), and how the decision will affect your life and the people in it.
Select and implement the best alternative: Create an action plan in which you marshal the appropriate resources and set a timeline in motion. Communicate your decision clearly to the people involved.
Assess the outcome: If your decision turns out to be the right one, think about what worked and why. If you were wrong, don’t be too hard on yourself. Just chalk it up to a learning experience and try a different approach next time.

What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever made at work, and how did it turn out?

Tags : Decision Making, decisions

About Alexandra Levit

Alexandra Levit’s goal is to help people find meaningful jobs - quickly and simply - and to succeed beyond measure once they get there. Follow her @alevit.

http://twitter.com/theminingman Jamie Ross

I've also found we tend to worry over big (and sometimes small!) decisions over a period of days up until the deadline when the decision needs to be made. One tactic I use is to set a specific date and time when I am going to make the decision once and for all.

Then in the period leading up to that point, I don't worry about the stress of making the decision, I just focus on steps one and two that you've mentioned – getting all my information clear.

Cheers,
Mining Man

[Reply]
bernieperry

Good advice Alexandra.

For the “Evaluate each choice” step I would recommned also making an intuitive assessment of both the probability and impact of each pro and con. That helps avoid the Ben Franklin decision trap of deciding simply based on the relative number of pros and cons.

[Reply]
http://collaborationking.com Collaboration King

We use Post-it Notes and ANDMaps to make decisions – which often times relies on your same 5 points above! Thanks for clarifying it so clearly!

[Reply]
http://www.alexandralevit.com/ Alexandra Levit

Great suggestion. I like deadlines in general because they prevent too much procrastination.

[Reply]
http://www.alexandralevit.com/ Alexandra Levit

Thank you for pointing that out, Bernie. It's a critical distinction.

[Reply]
http://www.alexandralevit.com/ Alexandra Levit

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[Reply]
http://www.alexandralevit.com/ Alexandra Levit

Great sample resources and terrific site. Thanks for sharing!

[Reply]
http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2010/03/18/should-you-collaborate-with-your-team/ Should You Collaborate With Your Team? | The QuickBase Blog

[...] causes. A big hurdle for new team leaders is being able to delegate work and being able to give up decision-making authority. It’s difficult because other people do work differently than you would do it, and it [...]
http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2010/03/30/making-a-decision-in-the-age-of-data-overload/ Making a Decision in the Age of Data Overload | The QuickBase Blog

[...] you want to use your data to help you make a decision. After considering your findings, you can rely on your intuition and your team to take the next [...]
http://evarykr.com/2010/03/should-you-collaborate-with-your-team/ Eva Rykr » Blog Archive » Should You Collaborate With Your Team?

[...] causes. A big hurdle for new team leaders is being able to delegate work and being able to give up decision-making authority. It’s difficult because other people do work differently than you would do it, and it [...]
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Just as you set a clear goal, also be prepared to set clear performance standards. Performance standards help define the process that gets your team to the goal. For example, if the goal is 100% customer satisfaction for the month of March

[Reply]
http://evarykr.com/2010/04/making-a-decision-data-overload/ Eva Rykr » Blog Archive » Making a Decision in the Age of Data Overload

[...] you want to use your data to help you make a decision. After considering your findings, you can rely on your intuition and your team to take the next [...]
http://www.facebook.com/people/Elder-Andrew-Howden/100001579897942 Elder Andrew Howden

I was writing a blog post about making difficult decisions, and I came across your post! I thought it was very informative and interesting. I will definitely make note of the things that you shared here in my future decisions. Thank you very much!

[Reply]

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Alison Green

Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog where she dispenses advice on career, job search, and management issues. She's also the co-author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Leader's Guide to Getting Results and former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization, where she oversaw day-to-day staff management, hiring, firing, and employee development.

Eva Rykr

Eva Rykr is an organizational psychology practitioner. Her passion lies in bringing a psychology perspective to the business world, with the mission of creating a high-performance environment. Follow her @EvaRykr.

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Anita Bruzzese is a syndicated columnist for Gannett/USA Today on workplace issues and the author of “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy.” She has been on the Today show, and quoted in publications such as O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Self.com and BusinessWeek.com. Her website, 45things.com, is listed on the Forbes top 100 websites for women.

Alexandra Levit

Alexandra Levit’s goal is to help people find meaningful jobs - quickly and simply - and to succeed beyond measure once they get there. Follow her @alevit.