5 Ways to Make Smarter Decisions Faster
How to make on-point and smarter decisions quickly without any regrets? When it comes to running a business, making decisions is just unavoidable. There are even times when you have to make decisions quickly since a business’ natural situation is very dynamic and unpredictable. If you weigh your options for too long, you will most likely lose many opportunities.
However, don’t worry, this article below will help you make business decisions quickly to deal with changing situations. Read our explanation below!
Know your options and limit them
What makes decision-making difficult is the fact that you have to choose between many options. Knowing each of these options will help you make an informed decision. You can start by creating a list of all the available options. Write down all the options along with the possibilities that could happen.
Once you have finished creating a list, it is time to compare all the available options. Find out the pros and cons of each option. At this stage, you can also rank the priority of your options; which one you will most likely choose and which is one that you should not? This method will narrow down the available options into more specific ones that relate to your business problem the most.
Give room for experimentation
Once you have narrowed down your options, the next step is to experiment with them. With experimentation, you can update or even completely change your initial decisions. It is because experimentation will help you test out an idea and see the outcome.
Try to experiment with every available option. Don’t forget to weigh the potential risk of each option. Use company data to support your experiments. This kind of experimentation will give you the flexibility to take chances, minimize risks, and explore further.
However, experimentation should not only be applied when you have to make decisions. Try making the experimentation as a mindset instead. This will help you not to limit yourself to new things. Experimentations can also encourage you to become more familiar with business evaluation. This method will allow you to make decisions faster.
Ask others for opinions
Making business decisions is not easy, let alone if you have to do it quickly. So it is okay to ask for help from your peers. There are times when a situation is so complicated that it feels overwhelming to think about it on your own. When you are faced with a situation like this, try asking other people for their opinion, be it a business partner, your employee, or even an expert who does have related expertise in a field you are currently working in.
Opinions from other people will usually bring up new perspectives that you might never have thought of before. This method is very effective especially when you feel stuck and have difficulty weighing on decisions. That is why it is important to have a good support system in making business decisions.
Know when to stop weighing decisions
Sometimes, making business decisions is difficult not because of the situation, but because of yourself. If you look closely, not all decision-makers have to go through a process of evaluating each available option. There are times when the choice is clear and just waiting to be executed. The problem lies in you who weigh too much in the decision.
So, when faced with a situation where you have to choose, make sure you know when to stop weighing decisions. If you still have trouble knowing when to stop, you can try setting a deadline. This trick will “force” you to stop weighing options and make a decision immediately.
Apply the 2-minute rule
What is the 2-minute rule? This method is still related to the previous point. When you have trouble deciding when is the right time to stop weighing decisions, apply this 2-minute rule. The 2-minute rule itself is a rule to help you do something immediately without having to procrastinate anymore. This rule can also simplify a big assignment into smaller tasks.
Let’s say you need to install a new security system right away, but you don’t know which one is the safest yet. So, in the next two minutes, use this time to list down several relevant options for the security system. Once you are done, use the next two minutes to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each option. This way, you can make decisions just by doing “small” things.
Those are 5 ways to make smarter and faster decisions
It is safe to say that making decisions quickly and accurately comes with several important factors. Sometimes you will have to deal with options that are too similar to choose between. In another case, the difficulty of making decisions can come from yourself. It is important to ask other people for help so that you can come up with a solution. Hope this article helps you to make your business decisions way more smarter and faster!
Also, there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of technology. You can use a business intelligence tool like Tableau to help you make business decisions. With Tableau, you can visualize each option and transform it into interactive information. For more information about Tableau, click here to contact our team!
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