8 Thoughts On Decision-Making (For Driven Humans)

Read time: 2 minutes

Strong humans flex muscles.

Weak (insecure) humans flex wins.

Wise humans flex judgment.

#1 — Making great decisions doesn’t require deep experience; it’s about knowing how much experience you have in that area. 

When you have less, rely on rationality and logic. When you have more, rely on emotion and intuition. Experience simply tells you which to rely on: your brain or your gut.

(here’s my framework for decision-making)

#2 — When choosing between options, searching for the best one is not always the smartest move.

Sometimes, decision-making is about speed. It can be counterproductive to stay in your current state while looking for the best, especially if the decision is low-risk. Decide quickly, then continue to look for a better option.

(speaking of risk…)

#3 — The depth of analysis should be based on risk and circumstances. 

If a decision or action is low-risk, reversible, and changeable, analysis becomes procrastination. If it is high-risk, irreversible, and unchangeable, analysis is preventative medicine.

#4 — Choosing to do one thing means choosing not to do all the other things.

No context is needed.

#5 — Decision-making is time travel.

Your choice is a bet based on a future result. This means you must envision the future and then work backward through all the possible options to return to the present moment.

#6 — Getting paid for judgment is the highest form of compensation. 

Early in your career, you get paid for the value of your execution. But the sooner you realize your decisions are the real leverage, the more you get paid. When your judgment improves, so does everything else (exponentially).

(speaking of judgment…)

#7 — Judging decisions based on reactions or results is a fool’s errand.

Too many factors are outside of your control: market factors, timing, skill, and even luck. Instead, it’s better to judge decisions based on the inputs.

(speaking of results…)

#8 — Those who say, “It’s all about the execution!” are wrong.

Yes, it’s true; for results to happen, you need to take action. But you can’t take action without first deciding what to act on. Even the process of improving your actions stems from the choice to improve. Therefore, if you want better results, it’s all about making better decisions.

Your move: 

Hit reply and share one of your thoughts on decision-making. I want to hear a fresh perspective.

2 links that will make your brain sing:

• The best representation of price vs. value (I have ever seen): link

• Learn how to (actually) write and get results from it: link

If you missed last week’s post:

Last week, I wrote:

How To Solve Expensive Problems (Without Breaking The Bank)

It’s about using psychological solutions to solve problems that would otherwise cost a lot of money (and time) to implement. It also includes 3 practical examples for each type of business: service, product, and technology/digital applications.

Forwarded this email?

Welcome to Impact Thinking.

Hi, I’m Peter, a former Harvard strategist turned entrepreneur. I’m in the business of thinking.

I believe impact thinking creates an unfair advantage — you will think faster, better, and shaper and shorten the time to execution — which means big results for less energy spent.

If you’re a small business owner or small-scale entrepreneur who wants to be known as a savvy thinker and world-class operator, subscribe below to get each letter in your inbox every Thursday — every letter takes less than 5 minutes to read.