Category: Decisions

Learning to make good decisions, especially when circumstances are not in your favor, is a skill that can help you get others' attention and make you stand out at work.

Decisions / Leadership

How to Make the Best Decision Under the Worst Circumstances

When making decisions under suboptimal conditions—situation is not in our favor, we have incomplete details or there’s an issue that requires urgent attention—most of us tend to screw up. We overreact, hurry and let our biases get in the way of good decision making. The ability to make good decisions under stress is highly valued because it’s rare to see it in action. It’s a super skill that gets you attention, makes you stand out and builds credibility at work.

We make very few decisions consciously because our brain is trained to run on autopilot and makes most of the decisions for us. Ladder of inference is a mental model that can lead to quick and automatic judgments with biased opinions.

Decisions / MentalModels

How to Avoid Jumping to Conclusions and Make Decisions Based on Reality 

Our actions in any given situation are determined by how we perceive the situation. We can all come to very different understandings, depending on what aspects of the situation we choose to focus on and how we interpret what is going on. Ladder of inference is a powerful mental model that explains how we make quick assessments or decisions. Each step in the decision-making process is represented by a rung on the ladder. You start at the bottom, then climb each rung before making a decision and taking action.

how-to-become-a-master-thinker

Decisions / Personal Development

5 Habits of Master Thinkers

Navigating complex problems, generating insights and finding solutions that others didn’t know existed is the most admired skill at work. Yet, very few people are able to do it well—the ability to think critically is a rare skill. Most people lack thinking muscles because they treat it as a born gift instead of being an acquired trait. Not sufficiently exercising their mind by thinking through tough problems keeps them falling for cognitive shortcuts, quick solutions and outdated beliefs. Becoming a master thinker doesn’t require an extraordinary brain. You only need to embrace healthy thinking habits that keep your mental machinery working at its best.

Thinking clearly isn’t something you can achieve in a day. Building mastery in it is an iterative process because the things that get in the way of clear thinking never really go away. You only get better at catching errors in your thinking and applying the right strategies to remove brain fog that gets in the way of clear thinking.

Decisions / Leadership

What Gets in the Way of Clear Thinking?

Our thoughts aren’t clear most of the time. Instead of a clear blue sky, they often appear as dark clouds and storms in the sky. While some people are able to look beyond this temporary darkness into the hidden bright blue sky, others get bogged down by it and feel trapped, unable to think and act clearly. Clear thinking is a point of leverage—it helps you make better decisions and avoid deadly mistakes with far-reaching consequences. Many forces—some within our control and others outside it—delude our thinking and judgment.

Spending all your time analyzing while failing to act leads to analysis paralysis. Desire to make the perfect decision turns into indecision. You struggle to reach a conclusion because you keep chasing certainty which does not exist—no one can know with surety if a particular decision is the best or will lead to the desired result.

Decisions / Leadership

How to Stop Analysis Paralysis and Make More Confident Decisions

When making important decisions with possible life altering effects, the uncertainty of the outcome and the fear of stepping into the unknown keeps us locked in an unproductive cycle where the more data we collect and the more we analyze it, the more we overthink our decision. Spending all your time analyzing while failing to act leads to analysis paralysis.

When you keep playing safe, you fail to leverage the right opportunities to advance your career. Using risk strategically and managing it well can build credibility, increase your influence and open the doors to bigger and better opportunities. Here's how you can get better at risk taking.

Decisions / Personal Development

How to Get Better at Risk Taking

Some people have the nerve for taking risks. Give them a challenge and they’ll jump right into it. You’ll find these people leading some of the biggest initiatives, driving the most challenging projects, and making bold decisions at work. They’re admired and respected for their ability to step up when everyone else is trying to escape the risk. These people are the change drivers, thought leaders and visionaries who have a knack for solving tough problems, courage to step into the unknown and the skills to handle the uncertainty. But what makes these people such good risk takers?

Mental agility makes you confidently step up and solve difficult problems when everyone else is taken aback by an unpredictable situation or an unforeseen circumstance and wondering how to deal with it. It is necessary to innovate, embrace change, and thrive in the face of uncertainty. Cultivate it by adopting these 5 key practices.

Decisions / MentalModels

5 Practices to Cultivate Mental Agility and Thrive in Uncertainty

How do you deal with uncertainty? How do you handle unexpected events? How do you react to change? Do you panic and avoid dealing with the situation or do you look at the situation with curiosity, explore alternative ways to move forward and pivot, if need be? The ability to think on your feet and solve problems by quickly moving between different ideas is the key to creativity at work. Mental agility is necessary to innovate, embrace change, and thrive in the face of uncertainty.

What if employees at work mentally check out? They do not become lazy, irresponsible or stop taking their work seriously. Rather, they do what they are being asked to do—nothing more and nothing less. Quiet quitting is a mindset that safeguards employees from placing excessive focus on one’s work, ignoring personal time because their career comes first or becoming so dedicated to their jobs that friends, family and their own health turn into an afterthought. #quietquitting #greatresignation #tangping #lyingflat #quitjob #burnout #worklifebalance #lifebalance #timemanagement #career #balance #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #wellness #wellbeing

Decisions / Leadership

Is Quiet Quitting a Good Idea?

What if employees at work mentally check out? They do what they are being asked to do—nothing more and nothing less. Quiet quitting is a mindset that safeguards employees from placing excessive focus on one’s work, ignoring personal time because their career comes first or becoming so dedicated to their jobs that friends, family and their own health turn into an afterthought. Disengaging from work can create a healthy balance between work and life but mentally checking out this way isn’t without negative side effects.

Philosophical razors in day-to-day life serve as critical thinking tools to eliminate noise, strip away unnecessary parts and better understand the problem at hand thereby enabling you to make better decisions. Use these 4 razors to make better decisions. #razors #philosophy #cognitivedistortions #biases #mentalhealth #decisions #cognition #implicitbias #mentalmodels #baddecisions #thinkingfastandslow #neuroscience #cognitivebias

Decisions / MentalModels

The Most Powerful Decision-Making Razors

Philosophical razors in day-to-day life serve as critical thinking tools to eliminate noise, strip away unnecessary parts and better understand the problem at hand thereby enabling you to make better decisions. Like cognitive biases that lead to thinking errors and arise due to the ability of our mind to apply shortcuts, razors are mental tricks that enable better judgment but aren’t right 100% of the time. When used appropriately though, applying razors can be extremely valuable.

When we don't pay attention to the cognitive distortions that impact communication, collaboration with others breaks down at work. To effectively communicate, learn about these cognitive distortions and practice the strategies to tackle them so that they don't get in the way of your goals and success.

Decisions / MentalModels

Want to Communicate Effectively at Work? Eliminate these 5 Cognitive Distortions

Communicating effectively with others is a crucial element to get work done. When we don’t pay attention to the cognitive distortions that impact our thinking, we communicate in a manner that makes collaboration difficult. Without being self aware and catching ourselves with those occasional errors in thinking, biased views and irrational thoughts make us form an inaccurate view of reality and stick with it thereby impacting our behaviors and actions.

Combating cognitive distortions during high stakes decisions or events where irrational thoughts have long term implications requires self awareness and practicing good habits of the mind which enable you to make conscious decisions as opposed to letting your brain run on autopilot. #cognitivedistortions #biases #mentalhealth #cognition #implicitbias #mentalmodels #baddecisions #thinkingfastandslow #neuroscience #decision

Decisions / MentalModels

Want to Make Better Decisions? Avoid These 5 Cognitive Distortions

We work in environments that aren’t optimized for solid decision-making. We also have irrational or negative thought patterns from time to time. This leads to habitual errors in thinking which creates an inaccurate view of reality. Combating cognitive distortions during high stakes decisions or events where irrational thoughts have long term implications requires self awareness and practicing good habits of the mind which enable you to make conscious decisions as opposed to letting your brain run on autopilot.

Do you have a hard time saying no to last-minute requests from others with the worry that you might hurt or disappoint them? Saying no is not only healthy, it helps you recognize your limitations and empowers you to make the right choices.

Communication / Decisions

How to Say No to Last Minute Requests

Do you say yes to every last minute request? Being able to help others, put out fires, share your knowledge and expertise can lead to feelings of accomplishment. Knowing that others need you can make you feel important. But that dopamine hit comes at a cost. Accommodating all these requests into an already packed schedule leaves you feeling burnt out, and exhausted. Saying no is not only healthy, it helps you recognize your limitations and empowers you to make the right choices.

The constant desire to improve ourselves and our life situation, seeking a better life, or the pursuit of pleasure is what keeps the human race thriving. But it also sets us on a hedonic treadmill constantly chasing the next big target.

Decisions / Personal Development

Stuck on the Hedonic Treadmill? Here’s How to Escape It

The constant desire to improve ourselves and our life situation, seeking a better life, or the pursuit of pleasure is what keeps the human race thriving. But it also sets us on a hedonic treadmill constantly chasing the next big target. We set goals and expectations. We run to gain those things. But once we succeed or reach that destination, instead of being euphoric, the feeling is more of a relief.

Getting laid off and losing your job is hard. It not only hurts you financially, but also personally. Left unhandled or dealt with badly, a layoff can make you adopt harmful behaviors that destroy your self-confidence. Handling a layoff well is not only about finding a new job. More than the job hunt, it requires mental strength to deal with the emotions that are bound to run high.

Decisions / Personal Development

How to Bounce Back After Getting Laid Off

Getting laid off and losing your job is hard. It not only hurts you financially but also personally. Left unhandled or dealt with badly, a layoff can make you adopt harmful behaviors that destroy your self-confidence. Handling a layoff well is not only about finding a new job. More than the job hunt, it requires mental strength to deal with the emotions that are bound to run high.

To succeed in life and go after the things you desire, you need to incorporate behaviors and practices that open your mind to new opportunities by viewing the world with infinite possibilities and unlimited options. With abundance mindset, you’re no longer operating within the confines and constraints of your own limitations. You no longer see the world as a limited pie but view it as an endless ocean where there’s enough for everyone.

Decisions / Personal Development

5 Practices to Shift from Scarcity to Abundance Mindset

Do you consider the limitations of a situation by focusing on the negatives or see the opportunities in every situation by focusing on areas of growth and improvement? When you’re not operating within the confines and constraints of your own limitations, you no longer see the world as a limited pie but view it as an endless ocean where there’s enough for everyone.

If you're making these career limiting mistakes, you may work hard but never get the success you deserve. Watch out for these mistakes so that they don't stand in the path of your growth and success.

Decisions / Personal Development

8 Common Career Limiting Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

Do you recognize and pay attention to mistakes that limit your career? Those who succeed at work do not have special skills and abilities. They aren’t more intelligent or talented than others. What makes them stand out are the little decisions they make every step of the way. If you’re frustrated that your growth isn’t aligned with your effort, identify the career limiting mistakes you are making.

Pluralistic ignorance is a psychological state in which we believe that our private thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes and judgments are different from those of others and yet when part of a group, we all seem to behave in the same way.

Decisions / MentalModels

Pluralistic Ignorance: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things

We do not conform to cultural and behavioral expectations around us that exist, but to a version we believe exists. Stuck in a vicious cycle of pluralistic ignorance, we continue to support the very behaviors we deem bad. Call it peer pressure, fear of rejection, our desire to fit in, or simply the fear of standing out, we think one thing and do another because we are deluded about other people’s real views and feel compelled to adhere to that delusion.

People who like to keep commitments are careful about their choices. They understand that doing something always comes at the cost of not doing something else. So, they carefully evaluate their priorities and say “yes” to only a few things. Identifying what adds value to them and to others and taking time to actually fulfill their commitments builds trust, creates strong relationships, and makes the other person feel valued and respected.

Decisions / Personal Development

7 Steps for Keeping Commitments at Work That Leads to Growth

There are two types of people at work – those who like to make commitments and others who like to keep them. People who like to make commitments don’t pay much attention to how those things fit into their schedule. People who like to keep commitments are careful about their choices. They understand that doing something always comes at the cost of not doing something else.

Ostrich effect is a cognitive bias that makes people avoid negative information, including any feedback that can help them get a sense of how they are doing on their goals especially when the information is perceived to be unpleasant, undesired or evokes strong negative emotional response.

Decisions / MentalModels

Ostrich Effect: Are You Avoiding Unpleasant Information?

Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they sense danger assuming that the danger will pass if they just avoid it long enough. We humans are no different. When dealing with unpleasant information, or information that challenges us in a way that we don’t want to be challenged, we pretend the information doesn’t exist. We bury our heads in the sand just like the ostriches.

The simple three-letter word “yet” is the sound of possibility, a positive intervention in our life to help us see straight. The nudge we all need to take control of our life by looking beyond the obstacles in the present to the opportunities of tomorrow. “Yet” carries with it the expectation that we can reach our destination. It creates an excitement into the future about all the incredible things we can’t do yet. This is the incredible power of yet.

Decisions / Personal Development

Incredible Power of Yet: Positive Intervention to Help Us See Straight

The simple three-letter word “yet” is the sound of possibility, a positive intervention in our life to help us see straight. The nudge we all need to take control of our life by looking beyond the obstacles in the present to the opportunities of tomorrow. “Yet” carries with it the expectation that we can reach our destination

Saying no to your boss is never easy. But saying yes to things you don't want to do or shouldn't be doing is not an option either. It may seem uncomfortable in the moment to say no to your boss, but facing a little discomfort in the moment is far better than a miserable life later. Know what truly matters to you and using that as a guiding principle to decide.

Communication / Decisions

I Said No to My Boss and It Didn’t Work Out So Well for Me or Did It?

Saying no is never easy. And saying no to your boss may actually backfire like it did in my case. But, saying yes to things you don’t want to do shouldn’t be an option either. You can either choose comfort in the moment by saying yes and then live with the regret afterwards or you can face brief discomfort in the moment by saying no to live a life in which you can feel at ease with your decisions later. Choice is yours

We spend a large part of our life at work, and yet when it comes to making a decision “Is this the right company for me,” most of us rely only on our expert intuition without any solid data to back it up. Data or intuition alone can’t help you make the right decision. You need both data and intuition to make an informed decision.

Decisions / Personal Development

How to Decide If a Company Is Right for You

When you meet a new person, you take time to decide if it’s a relationship worth investing in or not. When it comes to your job though, do you apply the same level of due diligence? Companies are after all in some sense similar to people. You can think of a company as a group of people with a shared identity. Spend effort into knowing this identity as you would with any new person. Determine if it’s a relationship worth investing

Our imperfection combined with the fact that the future is unknown can lead us to make very bad decisions. But instead of feeling helpless, we can invest in our decision making abilities. We can learn to make better decisions to make a positive impact in our own lives and the people we work with

Decisions / MentalModels

Avoiding Bad Decisions: Why We Make Bad Choices and How to Fight Back

Our life is nothing but a sum total of our decisions. From health to relationships to professional and personal growth, our decisions form an integral part of our overall well-being. An understanding of why you make bad decisions will profoundly enhance the success of all your future decision-making by preventing you from making choices you end up regretting

Path to success goes through failure. It’s scattered with mistakes, big and small and when confronted with challenges, we emerge on the other side more confident than we began. We can learn from our mistakes by shutting down the siren song of self-justification

Decisions / Personal Development

Strategies For Learning From Mistakes: How To Beat Self Justification And Think Clearly

Path to success goes through failure. It’s scattered with mistakes, big and small and when confronted with challenges, we emerge on the other side more confident than we began. Instead of letting self-justification cloud our judgment, we can learn to embrace those painful moments that are essential for progress

Both big picture thinking using "why" and nitty-gritty thinking using "what" need to co-exist. Big picture thinking acting as the motivational force to guide decision making, encouraging clear thinking and reminding everyone of the benefits of sticking to larger goals of the organisation while using nitty-gritty thinking to achieve those goals by reminding people to focus on the task at hand

Decisions / Personal Development

What Matters In Goals: Big Picture Thinking or The Nitty-Gritty?

Greater achievement comes from realizing how our thinking impacts our goals. By adopting the right mindset and using the right mode of thinking, we can overcome the challenges that stand in the way of achieving our goals. Learn when to use the big picture “why” and when you need nitty-gritty “what” based thinking

Learned Helplessness leads to pessimism in which even minor failures can turn into catastrophic events while learned optimism leads to adopting an optimistic attitude in which setbacks are considered temporary failures

Decisions / Personal Development

Learned Helplessness vs Learned Optimism: How To Train Your Brain To Be More Optimistic

How do you deal with adversity? Are you an optimist who is briefly disturbed by the experience but soon bounce back and storms out of the phase with the belief that it’s only a rough patch or a pessimist who continues to be paralyzed by fear of failure and spirals into hopelessness with the belief in the permanent nature of their situation. Learn to shift from learned helplessness to learned optimism

With your decision making rooted in reward and punishment, you develop a strong tendency to be a people pleaser. People pleasing is not harmless though it may seem like it. You are not acting out of your sense of goodness for others but rather it’s deeply seated in your fear of rejection, feeling of helplessness, risk of failure, discomfort from displeasing others and not having the courage to receive their disapproval

Decisions / Personal Development

Stop Being A People Pleaser: Don’t Let Reward And Punishment Drive Your Behaviour

Do you act out of your sense of goodness for others or out of fear of rejection, discomfort from displeasing others and not having the courage to receive their disapproval? Being a people pleaser will trap you within the boundaries of your own limitations by seeking external validation instead of utilising your true potential. Learn to create value instead of doing work to satisfy others expectations

The recency of events and the emotional response that they generate influence our decisions in a huge way. When looking for information to guide our decisions, we rely on instances that come readily to mind without validating the specific content, their relevance and even their probability of occurrence. This specific bias known as availability heuristic is deeply entrenched within the human operating system

Decisions / MentalModels

Availability Heuristic: Trade-Off Between Efficiency And Accuracy In Decision Process

Availability heuristic which optimises for efficiency is error prone as it exaggerates the probability of an event based on ease of recall. Learning when we can rely on efficiency and when we need to be accurate can help us in making better decisions. Apply the right strategies when deciding on the likelihood of something happening again or determining how the future would turn out

Decision fatigue leads to poor quality of decision making. We show reluctance to make trade-offs, fall back to easy choices and may even find it difficult to exercise self-control after making a series of decisions

Decisions / Personal Development

Decision Fatigue: Don’t Squeeze Out Every Bit Of Your Attention

Do you control the number of decisions you make by choice and dedicate your peak mental energy to those significant decisions that impact your life in a huge way? Learn to make active choices and design a systematic approach to reduce the effect of decision fatigue and maximise your chances of making the best decision

Sunk cost fallacy causes us to ignore the promise of a better experience in the future by making an attempt to negate a loss in the past. In other words, our past investments over influence our current decisions

Decisions / Leadership

Sunk Cost Fallacy: Know When You Need To Pull The Plug

Do you base your decision on what’s going to happen in the future or what investments have been made in the past? By not shifting our mental frame from the cost of moving on to the cost of not moving on, sunk cost fallacy causes us to ignore the promise of a better experience in the future by making an attempt to negate a loss in the past

Without applying Hanlon's razor, we default to bad intention when things do not turn out as intended. The underlying assumption that the other person is acting out of bad intention can shut down all possible communication. The negativity trap can prevent us from reaching out to the other person. It can make us distance ourselves from others, avoid communication, collaboration, and ignore opportunities that might benefit us

Decisions / MentalModels

Hanlon’s Razor: How To Be Less Judgmental And Build Better Relationships

What do we do when things do not turn out as intended? Applying Hanlon’s razor can open our mind to seek alternate views instead of assuming bad intention, shift our perspective from a negative frame of mind to a positive one, from shutting down communication to actively engage and blaming others to finding solutions together

Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias in which we interpret and selectively gather data to fit our beliefs as opposed to using opposing views to update our mental models

Decisions / MentalModels

Confirmation Bias: Going Beyond Our Personal Narrative

When confronted with information that challenges your personal narrative, are you curious about the new information and use that to update your beliefs or do you give in to confirmation bias and find ways to reject the evidence that contradicts your assumptions and look for information that strengthens your point of view

Groupthink happens when herd mentality drives decisions instead of utilizing the collective power of group intelligence. Without the environment that encourages fresh perspectives, constructive conflict with a desire to learn new information, and a clear process for making decisions, groupthink can give rise to collective blindness

Decisions / Leadership

Avoid GroupThink: 6 Effective Guardrails To Shape Decisions

When you are part of a group, do you speak up and voice your opinion or avoid criticism and choose a path of less conflicts. When popularity takes priority over individual responsibility, people develop a tendency to conform to ideas that lead to conservative thinking and make decisions with incomplete and biased information leading to groupthink

5 areas of self reasoning and introspection to determine if you really want to be a manager. Before you decide to be a manager, answer the key questions raised in these 5 areas to determine if manager role is right for you or not

Decisions / Management

Do You Really Want To Be A Manager?

Management is a choice. Embracing it for the right reasons requires reasoning with self, questioning our thoughts, staying true to how we feel about the role and then making a conscious decision. If you really want to be a manager, explore possibilities and understand its unique challenges

Inversion mental model is the simple and most powerful mental model to think opposite of what we seek and unleash imagination by expanding our thoughts and questioning our assumptions. It helps us uncover possibilities we did not know existed and provide more success and growth at work and in life

Decisions / MentalModels

Inversion: Mental Model To Uncover New Possibilities

Thinking opposite of what we desire is not natural. Inversion mental model provides an objective way to explore the problem by thinking the opposite of what we seek. Going beyond our limitation requires questioning our existing beliefs and assumptions to uncover new possibilities and establish a better perspective to our original question with greater clarity and understanding.

Occam's razor is a problem solving principle and mental model that states simple solution to a problem is usually the correct one

Decisions / MentalModels

Occam’s Razor: Problem Solving Principle To Create Simple Solutions

Given a complex solution with multiple assumptions and a simple solution with less assumptions, which one will you choose? Occam’s razor is a problem solving principle and a mental model that’s highly relevant in fast moving and highly competitive work environments. Learn why simple is hard and how simple solution to a problem is usually the correct one

First principles thinking embraces a new mindset, a shift in thinking that discards conventional wisdom, cuts through the dogma and questions our own beliefs.It drives complex problem solving and workplace innovation through reverse engineering

Decisions / MentalModels

First Principles Thinking: The Most Powerful Way To Think

Do you start with the limitations or think of the possibilities. First principles thinking embraces a new mindset that shifts our thinking from exploring variations of existing solutions to creating a new recipe from the fundamental truth. Learn how it is the most powerful form of thinking to keep you one step ahead and plan and build for the future