Humour aside, how do you make effective decisions when you have competing values juggling for prominence?
This was facing someone I met recently. She had the opportunity to start a new business in Australia or take on a big job overseas. She loved the ideals and opportunities within the Australian business and could use all her management skills to be of service to her target market.
On the other hand, if she took the overseas job she could be nearer to her family and lead a new and innovative company. Both had many positives and she understood that either decision would probably work out fine. Still she struggled.
We were at lunch and having finished eating, we found pen and paper and set to work. I asked her to list 20 things of importance to her. Amongst the list were family, independence, security, challenge and service. I explained that if some of her top five values could be expressed and honoured by her decision, then she would probably be fulfilled within herself.
As it turned out through our discussion, she actually had an opportunity to do both. The license for the Australian business was a global one so she could pursue this wherever she wished. Not only that, the skills and materials she had bought as part of the licensee arrangement would help her run the new overseas company! Then as she settled into the overseas job, she could expand her Australian business as well without any conflict. She was very chuffed! No more struggle.
Out of interest, we discussed other methods she could have used to make her decision. She could have used the Abe Lincoln technique - list the pros and cons of each decision and give each item a weighting. Something useful will emerge from the figures.
Or there is the ‘Toss a coin' technique, where you make a decision based on the toss of a coin, but not in the way you might initially think. Choose heads or tails and however the coin lands, immediately notice your body's reaction. Is it relief or does your energy dip? The real clue is in your body's reaction to the result of the tossed coin, not whether it is heads or tails.
Perhaps you meditate or ‘sleep on it' and allow clarity to come through the fog of doubt.
For those who are skilled in ‘muscle testing' that is another great technique.
You can actively ask for signs to ‘open' and ‘close' doors to you. I remember once when Julie (my partner) and I were looking at a house to rent. It was a duplex and had many of the right ingredients which we were looking for - great views, northerly aspect etc. On an inspection visit with the agent, we were standing and admiring the beautiful view, when the neighbour started arguing on the phone. The language he used was very violent and abusive. ‘Hmm' we thought, ‘perhaps not!' His timing was impeccable and that ‘door' slammed with a bang. Had he not had that argument we could easily have moved in, only to find we had a psychopathic neighbour! As it turned out, our decision not to take it was very wise. That argument was not a once off event. A friend lived nearby and confirmed our concerns. It would have been like living next to the neighbour from hell. We eventually found another place with wonderful neighbours and even better views!
But how about you? What techniques do you use when faced with conflicting issues in decision making? I would love to hear from you.
