A Decision-Making Checklist for Your Team

I’ve long been interested in the science of decision-making. We make hundreds of them every day, yet we often don’t think about the processes behind them. There are times when decisions feel so right, so clear that we don’t even have to think about them. There are other times when the stakes are high, outcomes uncertain, information unclear that we have to think a lot about them.

In either case, it helps to be aware of how our minds frame and make choices. When it’s easy, we should be wary of automatic (yet flawed) processes taking over. When it’s difficult, it’s useful to know tactics to help you get to the right place. There is a whole cottage industry of books about this very topic.

Most of our decisions are small, inconsequential. Yet, there is a time and place where the decisions you (help) make end up impacting yourself and others. That place is work.

Indeed, a lot of work is sitting in meetings where someone has decided they need more brainpower (or dispersion of responsibility) to make a decision. For good reason, as well. At work, it’s an inconvenient truth that decisions on what to work on and how have a massive impact on all of the stakeholders. More than anything, these decisions will determine your long-term success. Because business strategy can be so crucial, and opportunity costs so high, it’s worth trying our best to get it right. (i.e. not relying on “gut” or “experience”)

Despite that, I have witnessed many decision-making errors. That’s not to call my co-workers dumb. The thing about cognitive biases and egos is that we all have them, they exist for good reason, and simply being aware of them is not enough. You need a framework, a checklist. Having consumed a lot of content about decision-science, I have become increasingly aware of the errors and tactics that plague our decisions and cost us so.

What follows is my best attempt at a checklist to eliminate some decision-making errors and help you get to the right place with your work. Built from my reading and experience.

Checklists are great for exactly this kind of high-stakes environment. Both airplane pilots and surgeons use checklists to great effect to reduce (fatal) errors. We can use them to reduce the mistakes that may impact customers, the bottom line, and people’s careers.

Not all of these questions are relevant for every decision. To go through each would be to over-do it. There is a loose order to these, but that is also not of the most importance. What’s important is that you use these as a check against the mental landmines that we all have.

Happy deciding!

Are we in the right environment to make this decision?

• Are we tired, rushed, hungry, upset, or distracted?
• Do we have all of the relevant information?
• Is the final decision-maker in the room?
• Do we even have to make a decision?

Are we solving the right problem?

• Look for the root cause, not the proximate cause of your problem.
• Is this the best problem to be solved right now?

Have we learned from our past decisions?

• Have we evaluated our mistakes/wins from past decisions and adjusted for them?
• Has someone else already made a similar decision that we can learn from?

Is this decision reversible, or irreversible?

• For reversible decisions, act fast and get feedback.
• For irreversible decisions, take your time.

Are we using the right information?

• The map is not the territory.
• Where did the information come from? How much do we trust it?
• Have we verified our assumptions about the problem, its conditions, and our abilities to solve it?

Have we considered all of the alternatives?

• There are usually more than you think.
• For each alternative, list pros and cons as well as:
• How big is each pro/con?
• How long will each pro/con last?

Are we deferring to the status quo?

• Change is hard, but don’t discount it for that reason.
• Are we holding onto sunk costs?

Are we making the easy decision, instead of the best one?

• Are we choosing what is simple, over what is complex?
• Are we choosing what is immediate, over the long term?
• Are we aware of our confirmation bias during the process?

Is this decision more about politics than the outcome?

• Is the decision based mostly on what the highest-paid person said?
• Is this decision based on self-interest from those in the room?
• Is this decision more about looking good, than being right?
• Is this decision the “safe” one, rather than the best one?

Have we taken this decision to its furthest possible outcome?

• Have we considered the 2nd and 3rd order effects of this decision?
• Have we considered all of the ways the decision might fail? Is it still worth it?

Huge hat-tip to Farnam Street for providing a lot of the content and inspiration for this post.