Guideline |
Comment |
Distinguish Major from Minor Decisions |
Some decisions are big ones, others don't make an enormous difference.
- Consciously decide which are major and which are minor.
- If there's a question understand why different members disagree.
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Give Yourself Time |
Particularly for major decisions, you want as much time as possible
to make them.
- Identify in advance when decisions must be made.
- Discuss the decision before you have to make it and then give time
to "mull" on it. Often that time can produce changed minds
and better decisions.
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Use Criteria |
It's very tempting to make a decision just by 'talking about it'.
It helps greatly to define "criteria" by which you'll evaluate
different alternatives.
- The more important the decision the more important it is to establish
criteria.
- It's usually helpful to have between five and ten criteria.
- Using a "criteria matrix" can be helpful
- A criteria matrix is essentially a table in which different alternatives
are listed at the heads of columns and the criteria are listed at
the left of rows. You fill in a rating in each cell of the matrix.
The simplest way is to use numbers and add up the score for each
alternative.
- Excel is a great tool for creating criteria matrices.
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Hear Everyone's Opinion |
Be sure that each team member has their say about important decisions.
It's too easy to neglect quiet members - they may have very good ideas. |
