Volume 1, Issue 3

June 15, 2010

Foundations for Evolved Decisions

Butterflies fly an impressive distance, but have you ever observed their path?  Take any two points, and the distance travelled is far greater than that of a straight line.  Our thinking processes are very similar, from planning to retrospection, individually or in teams.  We think like butterflies, but quality in action takes quality in thought.  Solving complex problems takes consideration of all the relevant pieces.  In an increasingly complex and time crunched world, use tools to quickly find and sort information - especially the missing pieces.
To start to create a foundation for evolved decisions, identify:
•    When decisions are based on the impostors of facts
•    When the temptation of crisis has taken hold
•    Where agreement among multiple stakeholders is required

Read more about the Benefit of Tools...

Four Keys of Evolved Decisions

In Good Company: 10 Reasons Why Evolved Decisions Matter Now

Change begets change.  The world is changing faster than ever presenting bigger and more complex problems requiring clear and advanced thinking.
1.    More Information: Sorting and sifting through the quantity of information available, while maintaining focus and avoiding changing horses in midstream is the new crucial ability.
2.    Super Crunching Capability: Technology allows for quick and simple analysis – a double edged sword that can lead to analysis paralysis, decreased flexibility and slow response.
3.    Journalism Shift: The quality of information is no longer assured when everyone can be a journalist, and as Amazon attests, we prefer amateur reports over expert critiques.
4.    Self Diagnosis: With the internet, more people are educated patients, and also circumventing doctors with self-diagnosis and treatment, despite the risk.
5.    Scientific Process: Formulating and testing hypotheses is fundamental to learning in order to prevent erroneous conclusions, though an acquired skill with only a basic introduction built into the educational system.
6.    Increased Diversity: Finding common ground with different interests and perspectives is imperative in an increasing global economy and multicultural teams.
7.    Constant Transition: Impatience is a sign of the times, with time to stop, think and contemplate a precious and rare commodity as the pace of change accelerates.
8.    Further Understanding: Ground breaking research gives new insight into our Brain Rules (John Medina), why we are Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely), and why we think Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) (Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson).
9.    Leading Proof: From the Audacity to Win (David Plouffe) to What Would Google Do (Jeff Jarvis), securing quantum results is about making decisions a non-event, based on factual, relevant information which builds trust in the process and faith in the results.
10.    Bigger Problems: Global problems such as oil spills, healthcare, and world economy require real solutions.

The Bottom Line

We shop with a grocery list to make evolved decisions at the store by protecting against memory fallibility, impulse sways, and other mistakes of human nature.  When decisions matter more, amplifying this strategy is just common sense, and as they say, not so common.