I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.
—Stephen Covey
Think about the decisions you must make every day, from what to wear to the type of coffee you will drink. Think about the decision you made to pick up this book. All of these are simple decisions. Now think about those difficult decisions that are tough to make, such as which home or vehicle to buy, or where to relocate your business. Why do people struggle with these decisions? Are they complex and multifaceted? Do you have a repeatable and reliable process to make them? This book will provide you with a way to make those not-so-easy decisions. I have developed a framework that will help you make them. This framework came from years of firsthand experience, as well as what I learned while working on my Ph.D. in engineering. This framework examines how we make decisions based on our needs, wants, and emotions, and includes systems thinking and multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). This framework can help you decide when there are conflicts between items, such as what you want and what you actually need. The following table applies to the example I used in the preface of this book.
Table 1. Conflicts Between Items
|
List of Items |
|
Product |
Wants |
Needs |
Vehicle |
Looks Sleek |
Fuel Efficient |
High Horsepower |
4-Passenger |
|
|
Nice Stereo |
Minimum Cost |
In the list, there are wants and needs. But the wants and needs conflict. For example, high horsepower and a nice sound system contrasts with a vehicle that is fuel-efficient and does not cost too much.
The framework is also flexible. You can use it in your business to decide which vendor to choose, service to offer, company to buy; where to relocate or expand; who to hire; or how much bonus to pay employees.
The framework consists of five steps that build upon each other. These steps are as follows.
The book has six parts, each part with multiple chapters. I use two examples of common decisions that are difficult to make that you might consider in the next few years. One is buying a vehicle, and the other is buying a home. I use these examples across the book to illustrate the concepts you need to learn. I repeat the main concepts, where germane, to help shift the way you think. I also provide highlights at the end of each chapter recapitulating the important concepts of that chapter.
In the first part, there are four chapters. In chapter 1, I will introduce you to my imaginary friends, Freddy and Hailey, who will help me illustrate examples throughout the book. They have their own decisions to make, and you’ll see what challenges they face from their perspective. I then discuss what I call your “Trifecta Influencers” in chapters 2 through 4. These are the needs, wants, and emotions that affect the way you make decisions. A chapter is dedicated to each topic. I also introduce a concept that I call your “surrogate emotions” in chapter 4. These emotions can deceive you into thinking you need something when in actuality, you don’t. Understanding your surrogate emotions will help you in your journey to make the best decisions.
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.