How to Decide
What to do when you can't decide
When you are faced with a decision to make, here is the best way to approach it:
- State the decision in form of a 'yes or no' question.
- List all the reasons for; then all the reasons against.
- Keep asking 'What else?'
- Always add additional lines to stimulate the mind.
- Decide a weighting system that gives enough flexibility.
- Be honest and objective.
- Add up the numbers and the decision is made.
1. State the decision in form of a 'yes or no' question.
The first step is to reduce the decision to a single line question, which may be answered with a simple Yes or No.
Wording the initial question is the vital step to making a good decision.
Ensure the question is worded in a balanced manner.
Be sure that you do NOT imply a bias in the way you word the question. For example:
Should we destroy our future by doing X or should secure our future by NOT doing X? Is a biased question.
A non-biased version would be: Should we Do-X or Not-Do-X?
2. List all the reasons for and all the reasons against.
List all the reasons for and against the decision.
Ensure that you do not repeat the same point, simply by rewording a single reason in many ways. For example:
I should buy a bigger car, because I need a bigger boot space.
I should buy a bigger car, because I don't want to struggle with carrying my luggage.
3. Keep asking 'What else?'
Keep listing all the reasons for affirming the decision, until your brain runs dry of reasons, or you end up repeating yourself.
4. Always add additional lines to stimulate the mind.
Keep adding unfilled spaces to your list to stimulate your mind to think of more ideas.
5. Decide a weighting system that gives enough flexibility.
We suggest you score all the reasons out of 100.
- 100 means maximum importance.
- 001 means minimum importance.
Score out of 100 every reason FOR X; then every reason for NOT X.
6. Be honest and objective.
Don't cheat yourself by skewing your scores to fit a predetermined opinion, that you had in the back of your mind, before you started the analysis.
7. Add up the numbers and the decision is made.
When you have weighted each reason for both sides of the decision, add up the totals and the decision is made.
Decision Maker App
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Definition: weighted pros and cons list
A weighted pros and cons list is a personal-effectiveness method that sets out every reason for and against one choice, gives each reason a score for importance, adds the scores on each side, and picks the side with the bigger total. If the list, the weights, the summed totals, or the higher-total rule are missing, the method no longer works.
Show CG4D Definition
- Lists all reasons for and against a single yes-or-no decision
- Assigns a numerical weight to each reason based on its importance
- Adds the weighted scores for the pros and for the cons
- Selects the option with the higher total score as the decision
Article Summary
Turn any hard choice into a clear yes or no: write the question, list the pros and cons, score each one, add the totals and let the maths decide-teams that use this simple framework act 45% faster and feel 50% more sure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions that frequently get asked about this topic during our training sessions.
Why frame a decision as a yes-or-no question?
How do I word the question without bias?
What weighting scale works best for scoring reasons?
How many reasons should I list before I stop?
Why leave blank lines after noting the pros and cons?
What if both sides end on the same total score?
Can this weighted pros and cons list work for group decisions?
Thought of something that's not been answered? Ask Us Today!
Did You Know: Key Statistics
Gartner’s 2024 Speed of Decision-Making study says teams that follow a clear decision framework make choices 45% faster and feel 50% more sure about the outcome. McKinsey 2023 research shows 68% of managers say slow decision making is their biggest block, wasting about 530 work hours per manager each year.About the Author: Chris Farmer
Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years' experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.
Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.
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