There are some basic prerequisites that you need to meet before starting on the decision making process. First and foremost, find a place to go that you are totally comfortable and safe, free to totally open up to yourself. Bring a pen and journal to jot down feelings, thoughts and ideas that are important to you. Writing things down helps you to identify and take ownership of your choices. Relax, relax and be brutally honest with yourself.
- Clarify & Identify Decision to be made
Focus on the decision to be made, identifying the important points. Bring a clear concise picture and words to the decision to be made.
- Identify & List Creative Solutions & Options
Think outside the normal thought process. Identify and list options and solutions writing and listing them, rank them by importance and attainment.
- List the Consequences of each
Write down what are the possible outcomes if I do this or I do that. Look at it from all angles both positive and negative.
- List the Benefits of each
Write down and list all benefits that are possibilities if you take action, list by importance.
- Prioritize the Consequences & Benefits
This is the easy part if you have done your homework above. Take the ranking of benefits and consequences and sort by importance to you.
- Evaluate by Importance
This is the most important step in this process and can be the hardest. Evaluate everything you have written down over and over in your mind, role-play with yourself, rethinking every detail, working toward clarity in your decision. When you are clear and concise in your decision move forward to the next step.
- Ownership & Implement
Take ownership of your decision and start a plan to implement a process to achieve results. Taking ownership starts the belief process and builds confidence that you have made the correct decision.
- Evaluate on an as needed basis
Once you have implemented and taken action every plan should have measures in place to evaluate the results. Measure and adjust accordingly keeping true and faithful to your decision.
Once you have mastered this process and get used to implementing it you can adjust it using the process in a more efficient manner. This will increase the speed at which you can make fast paced decisions. I developed this technique while in the Marines in Viet Nam where life and death decisions need to be made rapidly. Confidence and clarity can and will be developed using this process.
