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9 Habits that Lead to Terrible Decisions

9 Habits that Lead to Terrible Decisions

  1. Laziness – This shows up as a failure to check facts, to take the initiative, to confirm assumptions, or to gather additional input. Basically, such people are perceived to be sloppy in their work, and unwilling to put themselves out.
  2. Not Anticipating Unexpected Events – It is discouraging to consistently consider the possibility of negative events in our lives, and so most people assume the worst will not happen.  There is excellent research demonstrating that if people just take the time to consider what might go wrong, they are actually very good at anticipating problems.
  3. Indecisiveness – When faced with a complex decision that will be based on constantly changing data, it’s easy to continue to study the data, ask for one more report, or perform yet one more analysis before a decision is made.  When the reports and the analysis take much longer than expected, poor decision makers delay, and the opportunity is missed.  It takes courage to look at the data , consider the consequences responsibly, and then move forward.
  4. Remaining Locked in the Past – Some people make poor decision because they get used to approaches that worked in the past and tend not to look for approaches that will work better.  Better the devil you know. But, too often, when a decision is destined to go wrong, it’s because the old process is based on assumptions that are no longer true. Poor decision makers fail to keep those basic assumptions in mind when applying the tried and true.
  5. Having No Strategic Alignment – Bad decisions sometimes stem from a failure to connect the problem to the overall strategy.  In the absence of a clear strategy that provides context, many solutions appear to make sense.  When tightly linked to a clear strategy, the better solutions quickly begin to rise to the top.
  6. Over-dependence –  Some decisions are never made because one person is waiting for another, who in turn is waiting for someone else’s decision or input.  Effective decision makers find a way to act independently when necessary.
  7. Isolation – Effective decision makers recognize that involving others with the relevant knowledge, experience, and expertise improves the quality of the decision.  Sometimes people lack the necessary networking skills to access the right information.  Other times, we’ve found, people don’t involve others because they want the credit for a decision.  Unfortunately, they get to take the blame for the bad decisions, as well.
  8. Lack of Technical Depth –  When decision makers rely on other’s knowledge and expertise without any perspective on their own, they have  difficult time integrating that information to make effective decisions.  We continue to find the best executives have deep expertise.  And when they still don’t have the technical depth to understand the implications of the decision they face, they make it their business to find the talent they need to help them.
  9. Failure to Communicate – Some good decisions become bad decisions because people don’t understand – or even know about – them.  Communicating a decision , its rationale and implications, is critical to the successful implementation of a decision.

Source: Harvard Business Review Blog Network, by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman

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